About
Our Mission
The People's Music School creates a world of harmony, creativity, and passion by fostering the universal language of music through free instruction and performance.
Program
The school offers free music instruction in many different instruments with an emphasis in classical training to hundreds of students each year through our Youth Program and the YOURS Project.
The People's Music School was founded in 1976 by Dr. Rita Simo with only $625, a donated piano and a dream to make the world a better place. For the last 35 years, we've educated approximately 10,000 students—most of them from lower-income families. Our students are taught music at no charge to them and also learn teamwork and responsibility, which leads to greater self-esteem and personal happiness. In this way, we use music as a means to change lives and to create tomorrow's thought leaders. The number of students we reach is completely dependent on the generosity of people like you through donations and fundraisers.
"As I started high school, I became more serious in my studies, and my life started coming together. It’s hard to say definitely if playing violin spurred my academic studies, or if my academic studies spurred violin playing. Rather, it seems to me that both aspects of my life affected each other equally — they grew together, and now, they go hand-in-hand. In learning violin, I also learned diligence and dedication, discipline and commitment, and finally, pride and passion. My instrument became more than a piece of wood; it was something beautiful that could create something wonderful, and this discovery would have been possible without the People’s Music School."
— Melissa Luu, former violin student and Stanford University Class of 2012
Why music education is important...