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Music Instruction 
Award-winning music lessons, ensembles, and group classes for aspiring musicians of all ages and skill levels — children, teens, and adults.
Early Childhood 
Morning & Full-Day Preschool programs with a full, child-centered curriculum of creative specials like music, science, drama, social and emotional learning, and more!
Music Therapy 
Established in 1966, our pioneering Center for Music Therapy (CMT) uses guided music experiences to help individuals meet life's challenges.
BOP STOP 
BOP STOP at The Music Settlement is Cleveland's premier listening room: an intimate, acoustically pristine performance venue with sweeping views of Lake Erie.
Share Your Story
Share Your Story
Add your story to our Music Story Catalog.
This began with just a few of us, talking about what music means to us. Each of us had a story to tell—how music shaped us, changed our life’s path, or simply helped us through a difficult time. Then it began to grow. Because the more people we talked to, the more we realized that . . .
Everyone has a music story.
Perhaps certain songs bring you back to when you sat beside your grandfather at the piano and played music together. Or you recall how music helped you find friends you finally felt at home with. Or how it just allowed you to let time slip away as your emotions found a voice in the notes and the rhythms flowing through you.
While the story of music as part of the human experience is vast, timeless, and beyond words, for each of us, our music story is particular, rooted in place and time, and connected to what makes us unique.
We are excited to launch this initiative for a Music Story Catalog to celebrate the stories of music that define and connect us. We want to bring together the voices of individual music stories that, together, harmonize into a chorus that sings the greater story of music.
Tell us your music story.
Share Your Music Story
We all have moments where music has touched our hearts and changed our lives. By sharing our stories, we can inspire others and create a community of people connected by the transformative power of music.
What’s your music story? Can you recall a moment when music played a vital role in your life? Your experience matters, and we can’t wait to hear it.
Here are some prompts to consider. Please feel free to answer any that you feel inspired to.
- “To me, music is …
- “Music has shaped who I am because …
- “Music has been important in my life because …
- “Without music …
- “Everyone needs music because …
TERMS FOR STORY SUBMISSION
- You must be at least 18 years old to share a story here.
- You must be the writer of this submission.
- If your story includes identifying or important details about anyone else, you must have permission from that person to share such details.
- The information provided here must be true and accurate to the best of your knowledge.
- By submitting this story and images to The Music Settlement, you give permission to The Music Settlement to share your story publicly, including on TMS's website and social media. You will not receive any compensation for the use of this content, images, or videos. You may revoke this consent at any time by providing written notice, but such revocation will not affect any prior usage of the story, images, or videos.
- If you submit any photos or videos that include a minor child, you must be the legal guardian or otherwise have authority to share images of the child. By submitting them, you grant The Music Settlement permission to use and publish those photos or videos of the minor child for promotional, educational, or marketing purposes. These images may be used in various formats, including, but not limited to, online platforms, social media, printed materials, and media publications.
Connecting Generations Through Music
by Arthur Kane
We all pass on what we learned from our teachers. After we are gone, we live on in what we taught to our students, just as our teachers live on through us.
Under the Bridge
by René Polin
It all started with that trip through East Cleveland and going under the bridge and coming to this beautiful, beautiful building. Honestly, I don’t think I would be where I am if it weren’t for The Music Settlement.
Never Underestimate the Power of Music
by Ida Mercer
Music is a universal language. It connects us. You never know where your music is going to take you, and it may connect you to some people that you might never otherwise encounter.
Our story.
Since 1912, the Music Settlement has opened people to the language of music and the stories it tells—transforming lives, connecting cultures, and healing hearts.
Join us as we write our next chapter.
The Path of Music
by Obie Shelton
I love to see how music makes the light come on in people’s eyes. When you see someone coming out of a good lesson, there’s a light on.
Music Brings Us Together
by John Williams
It’s one of the few things we can all share and love, even if we have different values and beliefs.
A Safe Space for Making Music
by Chris Mahon
Music has always been a huge part of my life. And being at The Music Settlement, being in all these groups—there’s no stress now. It’s a safe space.
Bass Student for Life
by Marios Kallergis
Playing the bass has helped me become a more expressive, creative, intelligent and well-rounded person.
Singing Through Life
by Michael Goler
Since around third grade, I had a stutter. But with music, I can just sing through life and never stutter.
Music Is a Blessing
by Hui Ying Stradiot
Music is more to me than just something I play. It can be something I give as a gift. It can be something that blesses others.
HOPE for the Future
by Kimberly Mansi
Using new music tools while experiencing vision loss provides me with HOPE for a future that is colored in the sounds that as a child I grew up loving.
Music Opens Doors
by Tracy Li
The Music Settlement not only opened doors for my two daughters’ musical journeys but also fostered their intellectual and personal growth
Music Is Ageless
by Lynette Janke
To me, music is a spiritual experience. When I listen to music, I feel I’m at one with the ultimate creator. Music for me is important as food and rest. It’s just something I need to have.