Community Music Center of Boston

We transform lives throughout Greater Boston by providing equitable access to excellent music education and arts experiences.

Community Music Center of Boston is an arts education nonprofit founded in 1910. We are proud to act as the largest external provider of arts education to the Boston Public Schools, supporting rigorous, relevant, and culturally-competent musical instruction for one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. We are pleased to be an anchor for local arts education and a leader in national conversations on equity and creative youth development. CMCB’s ecosystem of programs includes lessons and ensembles, group classes, music therapy, early childhood programming, school programs, and much more.

CMCB celebrates 110 years of answering Boston’s calls to action. From our Music Therapy work helping reintegrate soldiers home from WWII and the Korean War into civilian life, to our role bringing the arts back into public schools shortly after Boston’s violent school integration crisis in the 1970’s, CMCB’s century-long legacy positions us as an anchor at the intersection of Boston’s arts, culture, and civic life.

Thanks to partnerships with a dozen public schools, a dozen social service agencies, and a variety of community centers, housing developments, and charter schools, CMCB has programs throughout virtually every neighborhood in Boston, in-school, after-school, and in the summer. We have two major divisions: Community Engagement Programs and Community Music School Programs. Often acting as the first arts education touchpoint for thousands of young students each year, at CMCB we prioritize high-quality and culturally responsive teaching that supports every student in a school building to participate with joy and equity in music-making.