News

Announcement – New Executive Director It is with great pleasure that the Community Music School of Raleigh announces Dennis de Jong as its next Executive Director, beginning August 20, 2018. Dennis has a long career in music education and music performance and has demonstrated a strong commitment to bringing music education to students to change…

We are mourning the loss of our beloved founder, Mary Cates, who passed away on Feb. 28. Mary was a truly remarkable woman who served five terms on the Raleigh City Council, and was involved in founding not just CMS, but also Raleigh’s Citizens Advisory Committee network, the Raleigh City Museum, and the Raleigh Hall of Fame, which inducted her as a member in 2012.

Mary became passionate about starting CMS after visiting the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville, TN. In 1994, with Mary’s brilliant vision and the tenacity that fellow City Council members remember well, $5,000 in seed money obtained by co-founder Ginny Zehr, and the hard work of a team of volunteers, musicians and community leaders, the first students were enrolled in Community Music School.

None of us would be here, teaching or learning music, without Mary Cates. She exemplified the principles of servant leadership and is an inspiration to anyone who hopes to contribute to their community through public service. Her compassion and unwavering support, not just for the school itself but for all of us who work here and learn here, has been instrumental (pun fondly intended) in keeping CMS going for 24 years, and championing the power of music education to change lives.

Mary’s belief that every child deserves to be applauded for their achievements remains one of the core values of CMS. We believe Mary deserves a round of applause, as well. We love you, Mary. Thank you for the music.

If you found your way here hoping to give a gift to CMS in memory of Mary Cates, you can do that here.

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.

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…