The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first director. CIM enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing education programs. There are typically about 100 openings per year for which 1,000-1,200 prospective students apply.

Many members of The Cleveland Orchestra serve as faculty at CIM and CIM alumni can be found in major orchestras throughout the United States and the world. In 2024, faculty voted, 56 to 25, to join the American Federation of Musicians.

Campus

CIM is located in the University Circle, a four-mile square neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland.

Opened in 1961, the main building houses teaching studios, practice rooms, recital halls, a music library, and classrooms. The building was expanded in 2007, adding 34,000 square feet of space. This included a new entryway and lobby, an expansion to the music library, a new recital hall, recording/broadcast suites, new practice rooms, and additional administrative offices.

CIM previously held a cooperative arrangement with nearby Case Western Reserve University, wherein CIM students had full access to many university amenities, including Case Western's world-class musicology and historical performance departments. In 2026, CIM made the controversial decision to break this arrangement. Only three weeks before the start of the fall 2026 semester, students who had already committed to the Institute of Music were notified that their tuition no longer included access to Case Western's academic course offerings, healthcare professionals, counseling and student life resources, or gym.

Accreditation The Cleveland Institute of Music is accredited by two agencies: National Association of Schools of Music The Higher Learning Commission

Notable people

Alumni

Tony Ann, Canadian pianist and composer Ryan Anthony, trumpeter Alan Baer, Principal Tuba, New York Philharmonic Benny Bailey, jazz trumpeter Mike Block, cellist, singer, composer Harriet Bolz, composer Zsolt Bognár, pianist Jim Brickman, pianist Nickitas J. Demos, composer David Diamond, composer Elaine Douvas, Principal Oboe, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chair of Woodwind Department, Juilliard School Dennis Eberhard, composer Donald Erb, composer John Ferritto, composer and conductor Chuck Findley, brass player Aubrey Foard, tubist Grace Fong, Director of Keyboard Studies at Chapman University Conservatory of Music Jim Hall, guitarist Joseph Hallman, composer Thomas Hill, clarinet Wataru Hokoyama, composer Frank Huang, violinist Judith Ingolfsson, violinist Stefan de Leval Jezierski, horn, Berlin Philharmonic Megumi Kanda, Principal trombone, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Andy Kubiszewski, rock drummer, songwriter, and record producer Anton Kuerti, pianist, composer, and conductor Martin Leung, pianist John Mackey, composer Robert Marcellus, clarinetist Stephen Marchionda, guitarist Tariq Masri, Principal Bassoon, Alabama Symphony Orchestra Peter McCoppin, conducting Mildred Miller, mezzo-soprano Kermit Moore, cellist Judy Niemack, jazz singer Kam Ning, violinist Yuriy Oliynyk, composer and pianist Greg Pattillo, flautist Ann Hobson Pilot, harpist Kermit Poling, conductor and composer PROJECT Trio, chamber music ensemble Nikola Resanovic, composer Ben Richardson, cellist and US Olympian curler Joshua Roman, cellist Hale Smith, composer, arranger, pianist, and editor Mark Summer, cellist Irwin Swack, composer Howard Swanson, composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, composer and pianist Gerardo Teissonnière, pianist and teacher Bross Townsend, jazz pianist Daniil Trifonov, pianist Jason Vieaux, guitarist Katharine Mulky Warne, composer, founder of Darius Milhaud Society Alisa Weilerstein, cellist John McLaughlin Williams, conductor and violinist Jasper Wood, violinist Jane Corner Young, composer

Faculty Sergei Babayan, piano Victor Babin, piano Greg Banaszak, saxophone Mordecai Bauman, voice Ernest Bloch, composition Margaret Brouwer, composition Sergio Calligaris, piano Alice Chalifoux, harp Yin Chengzong, piano Vinson Cole, voice Max Dimoff, double bass Andrew Földi, voice Maurice Goldman, voice Jamey Haddad, percussion Grant Johannesen, piano Ilya Kaler, violin Yolanda Kondonassis, harp Edwin Arthur Kraft, organ William Kroll, violin Jaime Laredo, violin Denoe Leedy, piano Arthur Loesser, piano, writer Malcolm Lowe, violin John Mack, oboe Tito Muñoz, conducting Antonio Pompa-Baldi, piano Quincy Porter, composition Sharon Robinson, cello Bernard Rogers, composition Beryl Rubinstein, piano and composition David Shifrin, clarinet Leonard Shure, piano Eleanor Steber, voice Yi-Kwei Sze, voice Gerardo Teissonnière, piano Nevada Van der Veer, voice Robert Vernon, viola Jason Vieaux, guitar Vitya Vronsky, piano Todd Wilson, organ Ivan Zenaty, violin

References

External links