Newton Music Academy - Needham, Massachusetts

Barbara Bickart

We love Newton Music Academy and feel so lucky to have found it. My daughter has taken piano lessons there for 8 years with Sivan and Elena and our son has taken guitar lessons with Adrian for the past two years. NMA is a serious music school--the instructors are highly skilled and competent musicians. They have the ability to take students as far as they want to go with music. At the same time, the instructors are balanced--they are always flexible and able to adapt to the students' needs. Svetlana has created a supportive, intimate culture within the school. Our kids love their lessons and have grown so much through studying at NMA, we will miss it as they head off to college.

Peng Li (李鹏)

I'd definitely highly recommend NMA to parents who are looking for music teachers for their young children. Our son starts his piano one-on-one lesson since the summer of 2021, and during this 1.5-period, we have enjoyed a lot during this music journey. The Director Svetlana is simply great! She explained every patiently to me at the very beginning what we could expect during this new journey. This is super helpful as myself know nothing about instruments. She definitely knows how to choose the best teachers to meet the specific needs of parents and children. Our teacher Synthia is the best piano teacher who works very patiently with our young child! She is a competent musician and professional in teaching both theories and practice. She is always very flexible and is always able to adapt to our schedule. Parking is also easy here as Svetlana clearly does a good job in coordinating the times of lessons.

Olga Umansky

My sons have been taking piano and guitar lessons at Newton Music Academy for 3 years. We were extremely lucky to find this program! The teachers are professional and well selected to suit the needs of each kid. The director of the school listens to parents. After a few years of frustration with several guitar instructors, we found Adrian at NMA, an extremely talented teacher and musician. He is versed in both acoustic and electric guitar techniques, fun to learn from, and brings teaching to a whole new level. I can't give enough praise to Irene, the piano instructor of my younger son. She is a school in itself - very organized and professional, and yet making piano a fun instrument to play. Recitals are fun and stress-free. Svetlana is very helpful and efficient when you need to change your schedule, communicate with teachers, or discuss any concerns. We highly recommend this school!

John Slocum

We're approaching 15 years in total with NMA, including multiple teachers starting from Musical ABC class, 1:1 lessons for our two children, and even for me, taking up first time piano lessons as an adult. Svetlana and team have inspired our children and us as parents, including voice lessons for my wife.
I highly recommend NMA for families or indivuals interested in fostering appreciation and enjoyment of music.

Harold Picken

We couldn't be happier with our experiences at Newton Music Academy. First, the Director takes great care to get to know the skill level of each new and returning students, their particular characteristics and personality, and matches these with particular teachers, based on their own attributes. We have found this highly effective, as our children have really connected with their teachers.

We moved to Newton Music Academy from another program because of my frustration over a lack of teaching and expecting students to play musically, with expression and emotion. The Director clearly emphasizes this when choosing an mentoring her teachers. Both my own children and others I hear at school recitals learn good technique, but also play musically.

Finally, the Academy recitals are run by the Director to have a supportive, minimally stressful environment which allows students to really shine and learn. I've seen and heard many wonderful performances, and its been a pleasure to see both my own children and others at the school progress through the recitals.

Nan li

I would like to share our family's experience with others about my kids' piano learning at Newton Music Academy. My son Michael Long started to learn piano at NMA from Ms. Marina when he was 6 years old. My other two children, Qian and Annie Long study with a different NMA teachers, Ms. Melissa, and Ms. Jean. All NMA teachers that we had so far are professional, encouraging and enthusiastic. The director Ms. Svetlana always tries to match the student with right teacher. All three of my children are very different from each other, so they have been suggested different NMA teachers by Ms. Svetlana. All of them love their lessons. The office responds to our requests so quickly and positively that we trust the Newton Music Academy. It gives every kid the chance to explore the music and reach their limit! I really like the way they communicate with the parents and students.
We really appreciate the teachers and the director's efforts to make N MA a good place to learn music
Nan Li, Wayland, MA

Lauren Zalkind

“NMA has been a constant in our family’s life for eight years now. I knew we were in good hands from the first time I spoke with Svetlana about my daughter studying piano. She cares about every family in her school, and works hard to make sure that each student is matched with the right teacher.
NMA’s nurturing and stimulating learning environment reflects Svetlana’s extensive knowledge of both children and music. Thanks to Svetlana’s careful selection of teachers, my children’s instructors (piano and guitar) have always combined their love of teaching with outstanding musicianship. We’re blessed to have NMA in our lives!”

Virginia Diez

NMA's private piano lessons have been Sophia's most consistent after school activity for the last 8 years. On her last recital this May (2014), as she reached the second to last place on the program (a marker of seniority and skill), we are reminded of the days when her feet hardly reached the pedals, and when she could hardly breath as the moment approached to go up to the piano and demonstrate the product of her hard work. Over time, she has come to believe she can make mistakes and recover, as Svetlana has been telling students all along at annual recitals. Furthermore, she leaves NMA having formed a close relationship with Sivan, her piano teacher, whose encouraging and supportive coaching not only helped her develop skill and artistry, but also a love and appreciation of all kinds of music.