Charlene Music was born in Costa Rica, where she founded the video production departments at Eureka Comunicacion and Cafe Britt, directed human rights films for organizations including the National Children's Hospital, and taught photography and film to impoverished youth. Filmmaking has taken Music to India, Africa, China, Cuba and the United States, where she has made documentaries in collaboration with the Center for Responsible Travel and Stanford University's Cochlear Implant Center.
Music studied photography and film at Harvard University, and earned an MFA from Stanford. Her thesis film, Danza del Viejo Inmigrante, is a documentary about the challenges and opportunities facing elderly Latinos in the United States. Music has been the recipient of filmmaking awards from the Caucus Foundation, the National Academy of Television, CINE, the University Film & Video Association, and Kodak. Her outreach work has also included youth counseling, domestic violence prevention, and improving public health and educational programs.