Rooted in Service | The Music Settlement

Author: Casey Couch, Cleveland Jewish News

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Founded 114 years ago to help immigrants find community in an unfamiliar city, the nonprofit has evolved into a multidisciplinary organization offering music education, early childhood programs and music therapy.

“Our mission, and it’s been the same ever since the inception, is to welcome and inspire all to join our arts and music community to learn, create, celebrate and heal,” [Geri] Presti said. “This encapsulates all of the programming that we do, and our vision is to unlock potential in everyone.”

Despite serving the Cleveland community for more than a century, Presti said many people still are unaware of the organization’s breadth of services.

According to Presti, The Music Settlement offers year-round programming through three primary centers – the Center for Music, which provides private lessons, ensembles, immersion programs and performance opportunities in a variety of musical styles for students of all ages and abilities; the Center for Early Childhood, which serves children from 3 weeks old through age 6 with preschool, kindergarten, summer camps and has earned Ohio’s Gold Award through the Step Up to Quality rating system; and the Center for Music Therapy, which uses research-based musical interventions led by credentialed therapists to help individuals meet personalized therapeutic goals.

“Our programs and courses are designed around the needs and interests of our community,” Presti said.

The organization’s roots trace back to the early 1900s, when founder Almeda Adams, Adella Prentiss Hughes and members of several prominent Cleveland families established it as a settlement house for newly arrived European immigrants.

“That was in the early 1900s when immigrants were migrating from Europe,” Presti said. “They were leaving their cultures, their families, their languages, their jobs, and they came to Cleveland – a strange city where they didn’t know the language – and they came to The Music Settlement because, as trite as it is, music is the universal language. It’s here where they learned new skills, took lessons and connected with others.”

Click below to read the full article, published on ClevelandJewishNews.com on August 6, 2026.

Original Article: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/rooted/rooted-in-service-the-music-settlement/article_79940652-d0fc-49c6-8898-35a6b611fdac.html