Our Story

Some businesses begin with a person or idea. We began with a big fancy house.

I am Christopher Prestia, and I love Victorian architecture.  I've always dreamt of living in a lavish, grand space with tall windows and gracious doorways. The difficulty has always been finding the right building. Most original Victorians have been altered or modernized beyond their original grandeur, or are so large they are impractical or unaffordable. But 401 Walnut Street in Columbia was a perfect blank slate with its largely unaltered floor plan, unpainted woodwork, sound structure, and manageable size with its rear section turned into an apartment. I decided to have two formal rooms on the first floor, my kitchen and casual living/dining space on the second, and sleeping area on the third. With my private living space so separated from the “public” entertaining rooms of the house, and with still more square footage than I really needed, it was easy to decide to open the first floor to the community.

I considered making it into a tea room and art gallery (I love art and food), and I thought about creating a small event space; I even thought about making a spiritual reading and meditation space as a repose from our noisy world. But the best of what I have to offer is music, especially music education. Besides, if I were to use the whole space as my home, the first floor rooms would have had my musical instrument collection and music library, so a music school was the most natural fit.

The rest, as they say, is history.

As I learned more and more about Columbia, the more I fell in love with the Borough. Columbia is a place where people actually walk the streets and talk to each other! I immediately felt the sense of community, and saw the potential for a community of amateur and professional musicians.

The Columbia School of Music is not just about music lessons and student recitals, but it's also about personal growth and human connection. It's a place to belong and to learn. It's a place to realize your dreams. It's a place to pursue your passion.

Our Philosophy

Here at CSM we believe that everybody has a different path toward musical joy. Some want to perform for others, some want to play for their own enjoyment, some want to pursue the art to the highest degree, some want to play with others in musical groups or ensembles, and you probably have your own dreams and goals. We’re here to say you can do it if you really want to.  It’ll take some time and work, but you CAN do it.

Some say you have to have “talent” to be a musician, or that you can teach technique, but you can’t teach “expression.” That’s simply untrue. Anybody who applies themselves can learn, and we all learn some things faster than others. Musical skills are no different. Speaking realistically, the only time someone’s “raw talent” factors in is when they want to play or sing professionally, and that’s just because it’s so competitive at the professional level. For the rest of us, music is just as accessible as any other subject and has the potential to bring us great joy!