On behalf of the faculty and staff, I’m delighted that you're considering the Yamaha Music School of Boston. This year, over 800 students have chosen this remarkable center for music education, which serves young children through adults with dedicated teachers, parents, and students.

Students all around the world learn from the Yamaha method, contributing to the development of a new musical generation.  Since the beginning of the Yamaha Music Course in Japan in the mid 1950’s, over 5 million students from 40 countries have graduated from Yamaha Schools, fulfilling Yamaha’s belief that “music knows no national boundaries.”  

The Boston School joined this vibrant international network of Yamaha education centers with its founding in 2006. Serving as the showcase center for the Yamaha Music Education System (YMES) in the United States, the school has been enthusiastically received, has had notable student and teacher accomplishments, and has experienced rapid growth. An unparalleled curriculum, talented teachers, and committed families make for a dynamic environment.

We believe that all children have an innate ability to learn, enjoy, and express themselves with music. The method develops each student's comprehensive musical ability in an environment that inspires a love of music and a lifetime of active music participation. Significantly, the courses teach students to express themselves creatively through the language of music. As their education progresses, they build performance, improvisation and composition skills. This approach has produced award-winning professional musicians, successful music teachers and millions of music lovers worldwide.

Designed for the beginner or hobbyist, our adult classes share the same commitment to quality instruction found in the children’s program. If you’d like to polish up your skills, discover a new creative outlet, or just have fun, ask about one of our classes or lessons for adults. 

Thank you for considering the Yamaha Music School to begin your musical journey.  We look forward to a fun and exciting school year with you! 

With my best wishes, 

Jim Keenan
Director

Catherine Flora Con, School Office Manager
Born in New Orleans and raised in South Carolina, Catherine attended high  school at South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities and received a B.M. in piano performance from the University of South Carolina, where she studied with Dr. Marina Lomazov.  While in college, Catherine founded and ran a small music camp for young children in her neighborhood and taught private piano lessons to students of all ages. She attended the piano program at Chautauqua Music Festival with a Magellan Scholars research grant, where she conducted research on contemporary Latin American music.

She recently received her Ed.M. in the Arts in Education from Harvard University, where she co-founded and ran an editing service, and coached writing.

In addition to music, Catherine loves writing short stories. Her work has appeared in the Lettered Olive Literary Review and Microchondria: 42 Short Stories Collected by Harvard Book Store, and has received numerous awards.

Jim Keenan, School Director/ Double Bass/Electric Bass
Originally from the Buffalo, NY area, Jim began his musical studies on piano before moving to double bass with the late Nick Molfese of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.  Jim was principal double bass and taught string education courses as a graduate assistant at the Ithaca College School of Music, studying with Henry Neubert. 

Upon graduation, Jim served with the US Air Force Band of Liberty performing as double bass/electric bass, playing in over 80 annual performances throughout the US with the Ambassadors Big Band, Jazz Combo and Concert Band.

After the Air Force, Jim started a new string education program for the Adams County School District (Colorado), freelanced in the Denver, CO area with Colorado Opera and Nancy Goodwin Trio, and then went on to work in administration for Berklee College of Music.  In 2005, he was recruited by Yamaha Corp of America to start a company-owned school in Boston to serve as the showcase center for the Yamaha Music Education System (YMES) in the US.  Jim has led the school from start-up to over 700 students in the first few years.  He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal (US Air Force), and the Outstanding Service Award (Berklee College of Music).