Posts by Community Music School
Musical Theater class performs Once on This Island Jr.
The new CMS musical theater class performed its first production, Once on This Island, Jr., on Saturday, May 13 at 3pm and 7pm. Instructors Julia Fair and Erin Zanders, and a number of welcome volunteers, spent all afternoon with the kids putting the finishing touches on the show and prepping them to perform. The energy and excitement level were high and the students did a great job! Here’s a fun peek at the students warming up for their first performance, let by classroom assistant Nathan Braswell. 
Spring Benefit with Ashley Christensen on May 9
SOLD OUT! Thank you for your support – we look forward to seeing you tonight.Join us for a very special evening with Raleigh’s James Beard Award-winning Chef Ashley Christensen at Bridge Club on May 9 from 6:00-8:00pm.
The evening will begin with a wine reception and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a meet and greet with Chef Christensen. Community Music School’s Jazz Ensemble will perform throughout the evening.Read more
Our neighbors are throwing a party and you're invited!
The Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative invites you to Creating Musical Success, on Tuesday, March 14 from 5:30-8:00pm, an evening of fun, food and games to support Community Music School. Come out and celebrate CMS, and meet the residents and local businesses that call our neighborhood “home”.
* Art by Lorrie Jones
* Music by Community Music School students and teachers
* Lots of great raffle prizes and a bid-on-a-musician silent auction to raise money for CMS
* Refreshments provided by Glenwood South establishments
We hope you’ll join us at the Downtown Raleigh Hampton Inn at 600 Glenwood Ave.
Can’t make it? Here are some other ways you can support CMS.
Glenwood South restaurants support CMS!
If you like pizza and you like CMS, you’re in luck. Next week, both Mellow Mushroom and DeMo’s Pizzeria and Deli will be hosting CMS fundraiser nights, and donating a percentage of sales to the school. On Tuesday, March 7, grab some dinner at the Mellow Mushroom on Peace St. And Thursday, March 9, make your…
Read MoreAll music classes resume Feb. 1st!
Community Music School is pleased to announce that we will resume all music programs starting Feb. 1, 2017. Thanks to an incredible and heartwarming outpouring of support, our Board of Directors believes that we can responsibly resume classes for this academic year while we continue fundraising for the future. Our loyal faculty is returning, and we are thrilled to be able to provide our students with these lessons after a break of almost three months.
The Board has also decided to embark on a strategic process to review our mission and develop new alliances and partnerships with stakeholders in our community. The Board will engage the community in this process, including our faculty, families, donors and other stakeholders in the music, youth and nonprofit community. The outpouring of support during the last few months has reinforced how important CMS is to our community, and we want to build on this support to better plan for the future.
We are thankful for all of the support from you and others, and we look forward to working with you in the next several months as we re-envision what CMS will be in the future. In the meantime, we still need your support. Please follow our progress at www.cmsraleigh.org.
Thank you from all of us at Community Music School!
WRAL: Raleigh's Community Music School in need of donations
Pink Martini toasts CMS students
RALEIGH — Three high school students from Raleigh’s Community Music School (CMS) were chosen to perform with the band Pink Martini and the N.C. Symphony Dec. 9 and 10 at Meymandi Concert Hall. Three students from CMS – a nonprofit that provides $1 private music lessons for children who could not afford them elsewhere – submitted video…
Read MorePlease help CMS reopen its doors to our 120 students
For 23 years, CMS has operated without a reserve fund. When times were tough, we found ways to work around this shortcoming and move forward.
This time is different. Insufficient fundraising, unexpected timing delays in anticipated grant revenue, program expansion, increased personnel costs and unforeseen financial bumps have forced the Board to make the difficult decision to suspend all classes at the school until our financial situation can be stabilized. This leaves our students without music classes mid-year, which is disappointing to them and to the whole CMS community.
The Board of Directors has launched an emergency appeal to raise $100,000 by January 31 so that the school can be reopened. I ask you to help us with a donation if you can. Gifts can be mailed to CMS, or made online at www.cmsraleigh.org. Please contact CMS at (919) 832-0900 with any questions.
With your help we will be able to open our doors quickly and once again teach our amazing 120 students.
Media Statement from CMS Board of Directors
For 23 years, Community Music School has successfully provided private music lessons for $1 to children in Wake County who would otherwise be unable to afford access to musical instruction. On Oct. 27, the Board of Community Music School announced suspension of all classes. This move was necessitated by financial challenges that could not be…
Read MoreSuccess on a Major Scale – 2015-16 Annual Report
We accomplished a lot last year, thanks to you and your generous support. You can help us make 2016-17 even better by becoming a sustainer today. Your monthly contribution of $100 will cover the full cost of a year of private instrument lessons for one student. You can change the life of a child who shares your love of music.
Read the 2015-16 Annual Report and learn what your gift to CMS can achieve.