Founded in 1914 by musician and composer Carrie Stone Freeman, Neighborhood Music School was first known as the Los Angeles Music Settlement and was a part of the Settlement movement, a cause which helped immigrant families to assimilate and adjust to their new home in Los Angeles. Our neighborhood of Boyle Heights is one of Los Angeles’ oldest and was known as “the Ellis Island of the West Coast” due to its large and diverse immigrant population throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

True to its original purpose over a century ago, Neighborhood Music School offers low-cost, high-quality one-on-one music instruction on a wide variety of instruments. Students at NMS typically take one private lesson per week on the instrument of their choice, and many play multiple instruments. In addition to private instruction, NMS provides collaborative, performance-based learning environments to students through our Ensemble Program and Summer Camp offerings.