Hello and welcome to The Nightingale Fam! We are a group of musicians, performing artists and educators with a penchant for sparking creativity and inspiration among children and adults alike. From early childhood to early elementary, our mixed age music classes place an emphasis on hands on time with instruments, improvisation and exposure to repertoire and sounds that are eclectic and diverse. My name is Mary Spencer Knapp and I am the founder of The Nightingale Fam. I am a multi-instrumentalist, composer and Broadway alum with over ten years experience in early childhood music education.
 
I started The Nightingale Fam as a project performing original musical adaptations of fairy tales, namely Hans Christian Andersen's story of the emperor and his relationship to a humble, musically gifted bird, "The Nightingale."  Since 2020 this project has blossomed into children's music classes, citywide outreach programs in partnership with Urban Stages, digital music and video content, and private music lessons. Our family music classes and concerts are designed for you, the caregiver, as much as they are for your children. We want you to feel you are in a safe space where music is neither polished nor dull, but instead spontaneous, multifaceted and fun. Together we'll create a unique music community, vocabulary and collection of songs from around the world to continue singing at home!  
 
The Nightingale Fam will keep finding ways to bring live concert experiences and original music to you. Please check our Special Events and Music & Video pages for updates. We are available for birthday parties as well! Inquire via our contact page.  
 
For those interested in private lessons, The Nightingale Fam offers instruction in voice, piano, accordion, ukulele, guitar and bass. We teach all ages. Please read more about these opportunities on the Private Lessons page! For more information about my work and career visit www.maryknapp.biz