About Cincinnati School of Music

Our Story

Cincinnati School of Music began long before we had multiple schools or a team of 60 instructors.
In 2010, we started as Backer Piano Studio, just the two of us driving from home to home across Cincinnati to give lessons. Every new student felt like a gift — a chance to learn how to teach better, connect deeper, and motivate students to love their instrument.

Each parent conversation, scheduling challenge, and student breakthrough taught us how to build systems that balanced organization, consistency, and fairness while keeping families happy and supported.

By 2012, we were ready for a home of our own. We opened our first brick-and-mortar location in a small Montgomery basement, hired a few teachers, and quickly discovered we’d tapped into something special. Word of mouth spread fast — so fast that within nine months, we had outgrown the space and moved across the street to a larger Montgomery studio. That became our home for the next nine years.

During that time, we expanded into Mason (2016) and Anderson (2017), growing steadily through the trust of teachers, students, and families who believed in what we were building. In 2022, we moved our Montgomery school once more — this time to a beautiful new space designed for the community we’d grown.

And in 2025, we opened our newest locations in Maineville and Middletown, completing a journey that began fifteen years earlier with two teachers, a handful of students, and a car full of music books.What Makes CSM Different

Most teachers have worked somewhere that left them juggling too much — tracking payments, chasing students, answering parents, or watching their schedule fall apart. We decided to build the opposite.

At CSM, our admin team handles all the communication, scheduling, billing, and recital logistics. You get a clean schedule, steady pay, and the time to actually teach. That’s why so many of our teachers stay with us for years — they can finally focus on what they’re good at.

What Sets CSM Apart

We know how much teachers give of themselves — and how much smoother teaching feels when the right systems are in place. That’s why our administrative team handles all communication, scheduling, billing, and recital logistics, freeing teachers to focus entirely on their students.

The result is a steady schedule, dependable income, and a community that values professionalism and respect. Many of our instructors have been with us for years because they can teach, grow, and build lasting relationships without the distractions that often make this profession harder than it should be.

Our Values

• Respect for your craft. We hire talented teachers and treat them as professionals — because they are.

• Organization over chaos. Reliable systems keep our days smooth and predictable.

• Community that lasts. We invest in long-term relationships, growth, and shared success.

Recognition

We’ve been named “Best Music Instruction” by Cincy Magazine nine years in a row, featured as “The Face of Music Instruction” in Cincinnati Magazine, and honored among Ohio’s 50 Best Workplaces. But what we value most is the trust we’ve earned from the teachers who choose to build their careers here, and from the families who invite us into their children’s musical journeys.