Third Street Mission

Third Street Music School Settlement provides high-quality music and dance education through on-site, public-school and community programs, as well as an arts-infused preschool, to New Yorkers of all ages, regardless of background, artistic ability or economic circumstance. Our programs are taught by exceptional faculty in an environment that nurtures individual achievement and creativity, affording students the opportunity to reach their full musical potential while developing a life-long love of the arts.

Transforming lives with music and dance for over 125 years!

Third Street Music School Settlement, the nation's longest-running community music school, provides music and dance instruction to more than 5,000 students each year. Founded in 1894 by Emilie Wagner with the mission to provide world-class quality arts education to immigrants in the Lower East Side during the Settlement Movement.

Third Street is a place for everyone to achieve their dream or begin a new one!

Third Street Vision

Within the next ten years, Third Street Music School Settlement will be the nation's premier community school of music, governed by the dual goals of access and excellence; providing a broad range of music-centered programs for preschool and school-age children, teens and adults, and; effectively engaging socio-economically and ethnically diverse communities primarily from lower Manhattan in a welcoming and nurturing environment in which all are encouraged to achieve their full potential and develop a lifelong love of music.