About Us

Mission

The Brooklyn Music School views art as an essential part of basic education and a means by which individuals connect with that unique part of themselves.  We make available  access to the performing arts regardless of income, age, previous experience, or professional aspirations.  In particular, we seek to help those whose artistic voices are least often heard.

History

The Brooklyn Music School is a community school for the performing arts, founded in 1912 as the Brooklyn Music School Settlement. It owns and operates an historic four-story building in Fort Greene  neighborhood, ( identified as the Downtown  Brooklyn Cultural District)  that contains twenty-four classrooms, three dance studios, and a professional 266-seat  Spanish Style theatre. The Brooklyn Music School is a long-standing member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

Brooklyn Music School was established as an arm of the New York Music School Settlement in 1909 and was granted a separate charter from the State University of New York in 1912. BMS has a long history of staged opera: renowned mezzo soprano Risé Stevens began her career BMS and the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse was also the home of the Little Theatre Opera company in the 1920’s. BMS is committed to serving the community by providing high quality classical music and dance instruction without regard to income, age, previous experience or professional aspirations. All students are given a solid foundation and develop discipline, self-confidence and poise.

For many of our students, we provide the only performing arts education that they will receive in their educational career.  Demographically  the Fort Greene neighborhood  over the years has become diverse community with multiple ethnic groups  coming from different countries and establishing themselves near  the school . Today the school's  population is representative of immigrant families ,  African Americans , Hispanics and American -European  groups. The school provides financial aid  to make  affordable  to the families and children  their lessons.

Outreach

Our Programs span the borough of Brooklyn and include the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Red Hook, East New York, and Brownsville.  These off-site programs allow us to serve at-risk youth in neighborhoods where such enrichment opportunities are simply unaffordable and therefore are scarce at best.  All students receive quality instruction from a faculty of more than twenty professional artist-educators.  More than 2,000 children and adults participate annually in our programs and activities

In addition, BMS faculty and guest artists present a series of public performances in the theatre.  The programs attract a diverse audience of students and their families as well as other Brooklyn residents who appreciate the access to excellent performers, friendly atmosphere and reasonable ticket prices.  For BMS students, a series of year-end recitals, as well as numerous mid-year performances, are presented annually.

Brooklyn Music School has been a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts for over 30 years.
Visit their website at www.nationalguild.org.