New School of Music - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dormi Zhao

My child has been learning piano at NSM Piano for over 5 years, and it’s become like a second home to us. Her teacher, Kai-Ching, is not only incredibly talented but also genuinely caring—she knows how to bring out the best in my child while keeping her love for music alive. Kristine at the front desk is a joy to interact with; she’s always quick to respond to my emails and makes everything feel so easy and welcoming. The whole experience here has been wonderful, and I can’t imagine a better place for my child to grow and thrive in music.

T Kawashima

My child has been studying with his piano teacher at NSM for over nine years, and it has truly been an extraordinary experience. The school is incredibly warm and nurturing, and the instructors are amazingly qualified. My child has placed in/won competitions and multiple auditions under his teacher’s guidance; his teacher has been the ideal combination of expertise, kindness, patience, and generosity. NSM’s many opportunities for student recitals were really key also. Of course, if you want to study music in a more relaxed manner, the school is perfect for that, too. We are so grateful for the past decade, and will miss the NSM community a whole lot when my child graduates next spring.

Emily Neill

Love this little school! Saw a notice for a sing-along last week which I was able to join in on and it reminded me what a nice vibe is there and how important a part of the community it is!

J Kennedy

Can’t believe that I got to take a high quality songwriting class right here. Also, to be surrounded by all of the good feeling in this beautiful space. I wish I’d discovered this place when my children were younger.

Adriana Healy

My daughter did the cabaret for kids summer camp last year (2022) and she had a wonderful experience. Staff is really friendly and did a great job in guiding the kids through the steps to put the show together, including composing the music.

Juancarlos Martinez

This school is a mess. I'm not sure if it's an incompetent school manager or the funding just isn't there, but the state of the school is a mess. It's crumbling right before our eyes. The only redeeming quality is that the instructors are actually very great, but the administrative staff are an absolute terror to deal with.

Listen, there are many different schools of music in Boston in addition to highly qualified private instructors. You will do better elsewhere, and this school needs to do better.

Philip Jacob

My daughter went here for years and had a wonderful teacher... until the teacher didn’t respond to us over the summer, gave away her spot and only told us at the last minute, two weeks after the school year started. The administration totally dropped the ball on getting back to us to help us understand what was going on with scheduling. We feel strung along and blown off. What a joke. Very disappointed.

The building is old but quaint in a Cantabrigian kind of way. Parking is usually very tight.

Mai Vu

I have had a bad experience dealing with this school. Their administration is unprofessional and frustrating to deal with.

I initially signed up online for a children group class for my 4 year old daughter who then decided not to go to the class. The signup was done in the week just before the section started, and I called the school up before the first class to see if I can get a refund. The registrar who answered the phone said Yes, I could get a refund but I would have to call back next week since the person who processes online payment is not there that day. The next time I called back, she then said that No, I cannot get a refund because of their policy on group classes, which she wasn't aware of!

After a couple of phone calls back and forth, the registrar said that she will speak with the director who will call me back. But the director never called back and I had to call her up the week after.

I told the director given that we withdrew before the first class started, my daughter has not even been to the school and is not learning any thing from this school, keeping the whole payment is not justifiable. I am willing to pay some penalty and request a partial refund. The director was all apologetic but was to no help -- she finally offered some credit transfer (which I had also initially suggested) to the summer school only. But by this time I have made summer plans, and have in fact lost all interest in sending my daughter to this school.

In my experience, the fact that the registrar was not even aware of the refund policy, and that there was no follow-up from the director as indicated, all emanate that this school does not really care about its "students", or at all about educating music. All it cares about is keeping parents' money regardless whether the child is learning -- or has even started at this school.

The more interesting thing is that even after all these conversations, the school keeps sending me email about new classes, events and asking for feedback on their classes. In one of those feedback questions they say that they regularly apply for funding through multiple foundations, individual and corporations who request to know what impact their school (NSM) is making on students, families and community. Well, the impact has been negative and I would not recommend giving money to this school, given their unprofessional handling and attitude in this case. My daughter could still be a potential student at their school, but after this I would not send her there and would not recommend NSM to any other parent.