On a personal level as Executive Director, I bring a strong focus on cultural branding by creating an environment that inspires connectivity to what we are doing, who we are, and a deep understanding as to why that is so important for the overall community. I have a diverse background that spans roles in for and non-profit, Managing to Executive Director in the Arts, mostly in Arts Education. The overwhelming majority of my career has been about connecting communities together through multiple expressions of art (Theatre, Dance and Music), so I am thrilled to be at CMS!

Community Music School’s (CMS) mission is to enrich lives and communities by offering excellent music education, performances, and cultural experiences. Our guiding principles include:

• Welcoming individuals of all ages, abilities, interests, and backgrounds.
• We are committed to excellence in everything we do.
• We believe that music and cultural experiences play essential roles in building dynamic, cohesive, and proud communities.
• We inspire creativity and passion for music and cultural experiences.

The vision for Community Music School is to be a vital source of musical inspiration and education, and a place for people to come together to enjoy diverse cultural experiences, contributing to vibrant communities for everyone. To accomplish this goal, we offer instrumental and vocal instruction to students of all ages. Each week students attend individual and group lessons, study music theory, and participate in chamber ensembles. Community Music School is pleased to provide financial assistance and merit scholarships for our students. Families with a demonstrated need may obtain financial assistance through a simple application process. We also offer discounts for seniors, siblings, and students studying multiple instruments to help keep our programming affordable for our community. For students with exceptional talent and ability, CMS offers merit scholarships. A true community organization, our programming consists of free community concerts and events, a ticketed concert series and events offering, music therapy, private music lessons and a myriad of group classes Here are also a few helpful stats that we are particularly proud of from 2021-2022 school year:

• 61 Free Concerts and Events that served over 4,000 community members.
• 450 unique students families served weekly
• Over $50,000 given in Scholarship, Financial Aid, Discounts and free community classes
• Faculty taught 8,538 hours!
• 40% of our students identify as African American, Asian, Hispanic/Latino(a) or Two+ Races