Community Music School - Detroit

High-quality music education and music therapy services for all ages, abilities and incomes.

An Incubator for Artistic Excellence

MSU's Community Music School Detroit is an outreach division of the MSU College of Music that cultivates a diverse and connected community by providing opportunities for lifelong education, college and/or career readiness, mentorship, and belonging. Students ages 0-100 engage weekly in high-quality and accessible sequential music education through early childhood music, music therapy, group and private lessons, youth ensembles, adult ensembles, and music production classes. Since opening our doors in 2009, CMSD has striven to support the vibrant cultural legacy within our city. When combined with access to inspiring music education, this results in an undeniable recipe for the continued success of personal development, fostering enriched lives through the power of music.

News & Events

Classes and Programs

Early Childhood Music (ages 0 - 8)

Come join us for fun games and activities that introduce young students to the joy of music through Music Play! Students ages 0-8 can build a strong musical foundation while developing important social and motor skills through chanting, singing, moving, and listening!

Group Music Instruction

Are you interested in learning a new instrument? Or maybe you’re looking to advance your skills on your current instrument in a fun and engaging classroom. Wherever you are in your musical journey, come join one of our instrumental or vocal Group Music Instruction courses at CMSD! (piano, vocal, woodwinds, brass,

Ensembles

Ensembles at CMSD are a great way to make music with other musicians like you. You’ll learn how melody, harmony, and rhythm work together in a group setting and prepare songs to perform live for your family, friends, and other audience members!

Music Classes

If you’ve ever been interested in exploring how to write, produce, and understand the foundations of music, then we’ve got you covered through our Music Classes at CMSD! Take your music making to the next level by joining us for a variety of classes teaching you skills that extend beyond the stage.

Private Lessons

Private lessons are a great way to get one on one instruction on your instrument and get specific questions answered on how to develop as a musician. CMSD offers lessons at an incredible value from some of the best musicians in the metro Detroit area!

Music Therapy

Music therapists provide treatment for a variety of conditions ranging from stress to severe handicaps. Services are offered to individuals of all ages and abilities in individual or group settings.

Our Administration

Kris Johnson

Executive Director

Kris Johnson (he/his) has served in the role of Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Utah; a Project Director for Pontiac School District, leading a U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education - Model Development and Dissemination Grant; and as the Education and Digital Programming Manager for the Motown Museum. Additionally, he has served on the teaching faculty at The Ohio State University, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles, and as an Artistic Liaison for JazzEd Detroit through a partnership with ArtOps and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation. Kris received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

Paola Smith

Assistant Director

Paola Smith (she/her) is a Latinx Colombian composer, psychologist, and social worker with Master's Degrees from Syracuse University in Composition, where she received the 2008 Heaton Fellowship, and from University of Michigan in Social Work, where she received the 2014 Eleanor Cranefield Scholarship. She served as an adjunct professor at Syracuse University, a social worker for Say Yes Syracuse, Imagine Syracuse, and Matrix Head Start in Detroit, an education assistant for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Director of Program and Operations at Detroit Children's Choir, and as a music assistant for the Musica Mestiza Project led by composer Gabriela Frank.

Jonathan Klar

Program Manager

Jonathan Klar (he/his) has been a program manager at CMSD since 2018. Jonathan is in charge of managing the youth group music instruction, onsite music therapy, and onsite early childhood programs at CMS-D. Before joining the Community Music School-Detroit, Jonathan participated in AmeriCorps where he served for two service terms at Accounting Aid Society. Jonathan graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Central Michigan University in 2014.

Keir Lee

Program Manager

Keir Lee (he/his) graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Michigan State University in 2014. He has been a program manager at CMSD since 2019. Keir manages the Spartan Youth Jazz, Verses, and Adult Programs at CMS-D. Before joining the Community Music School-Detroit, Keir taught K-6 elementary general music at Carl Wilde Elementary in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Christie Lower

Early Childhood Music Program Manager

Christie Lower (she/her) is the Early Childhood Music Program Manager at the MSU Community Music School-Detroit. Since 2013, Christie has been actively working on site in our classrooms, and off site in various child care centers with young children in the metro Detroit area. Prior to this, Christie taught elementary music in the Dearborn and Ann Arbor Public School Districts.  Christie graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education at Michigan State University in 2014. She has also completed level one certifications in early childhood music and elementary music from the Gordon Institute for Music Learning.