Brooklyn Music School is a community school for the performing arts, founded in 1910 as the Brooklyn Music School Settlement. The school was founded by Brooklynites for whom music performance and appreciation was an essential part of life, and who wished to spread music and performance to a broader audience as part of the settlement movement.
Today, Brooklyn is a magnet for people from around the world, both musicians seeking new audiences and families seeking a better life. Our organization continues to stay true to our heritage of building communities through the joy and appreciation of the performing arts.
We own and operate a historic four-story building in the Fort Greene neighborhood that contains twenty-four classrooms, three dance studios, and a professional 266-seat Spanish-style theatre. Brooklyn Music School is a long-standing member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.
In recent years, Fort Greene has become recognized as a cultural hub of Brooklyn and the home to some of the most innovative music and performance in New York City.
BMS's student population is representative of our community and includes students from a wide variety of racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Our organization provides financial aid to make musical instruction affordable to families and children regardless of their resources. All students are given a solid foundation and develop healthy habits and self-confidence.
For some of our students, our programming provides the only exposure to music education that they will receive. For others, BMS serves as a launch pad to professional careers in music and performance, and many of our alumni have gone on to attend some of the most competitive conservatories in America and abroad.