Private
One student, one teacher. The whole lesson is built around what your child is working on this week, at whatever pace suits them.
From $38 per lesson
NY Smart Start · Age 3 to adult
MusicInstitute
Discover · Learn · Create · Perform
From $18per lesson · 30, 45 or 60 minutes
Private and small-group lessons on piano, violin, guitar, voice, saxophone, flute and clarinet — scheduled around your family, seven days a week. Every student performs twice a year in front of an audience.
23 Brighton 11th Street, Brooklyn NY 11235 · Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM · Sat 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Sun 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
How lessons work
Three ways to study
The format decides how much of the teacher's attention your child gets, and what it costs. Most students start private and add ensemble work later.
Semi-private
Two students share the lesson. We pair them by age, level and availability — or you can enroll together if you already have a partner in mind.
From $23 per lesson
Small group
A class setting for theory, ear training and beginners who learn better alongside other children than one to one.
From $18 per lesson
Also available: chamber ensembles, choir, theory classes and performance workshops — students join these alongside their regular lessons.
What we teach
Instruments and subjects
Every subject below has a teacher on staff.
- ♪Piano
- ♪Violin
- ♪Guitar
- ♪Voice
- ♪Saxophone
- ♪Flute
- ♪Clarinet
- ♪Recorder
- ♪Music theory
- ♪Ear training
- ♪Music history
Theory and ear training work two ways. They are taught inside the instrumental or voice lesson at no extra cost, and they are also available as subjects in their own right for students who want to study them on their own.
Curriculum
Lessons that lead somewhere
Teaching follows the ABRSM curriculum, the international standard for structured musical development. Your child is not simply working through pieces a teacher happens to like — they are moving through recognized levels, and you can see where they are.
Graded, not guessed
ABRSM sets out what a student should be able to play, hear and understand at each stage. That means a teacher can tell you precisely what your child has mastered and what comes next, and a student always knows what they are working toward.
Students sit exams with recognized US and international boards, and those exams lead to official diplomas — credentials that travel with a student to any school, in any country.
Alongside the instrument
- 01Music theory, taught inside the lesson or as its own subject
- 02Ear training — hearing intervals, chords and mistakes
- 03Music history, so a piece means something beyond the notes
- 04Sight reading and notation from the start
High school students
Music that counts toward college
For older students, serious study can do more than build a skill — it can earn credit and strengthen an application.
AP Music Theory preparation
A dedicated course preparing students for the AP Music Theory exam. A qualifying score can earn college credit before a student ever sets foot on campus.
College application portfolio
We help students assemble a portfolio of recordings, repertoire, exam results and performance history — the material admissions committees and scholarship panels actually ask to see.
Audition preparation
Coaching for LaGuardia and other performing arts school auditions, and for college music auditions — repertoire choice, presentation, and holding your nerve in the room.
Scheduling
Your slot, not ours
There is no fixed class time to fit into. You pick a day and an hour that works, and it becomes your child's weekly slot for the semester.
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PM
Weekdays 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM · Saturday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Sunday 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM · Flexible scheduling available
Rates
Priced per lesson, billed monthly
You are billed for the lessons actually scheduled that month — four in a four-week month, five in a five-week one. No package to buy up front.
| Format | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| PrivateOne to one | $38$48 | $53$63 | $68$78 |
| Semi-privateTwo students | $23$33 | $33$43 | $43$53 |
| Small groupClass setting | $18$28 | $28$38 | $38$48 |
School year starts
September 8
Enrollment
Rolling, space permitting
Registration fee
$35 a year, per student
Billing
By lessons scheduled
Family discounts
More than one child, or more than one program
Discounts apply across the Chess Academy, Art School and Music Institute.
10%
off for a second child enrolled
10%
off when adding a second program
15%
off across three enrichment programs
Discounts are not combined — whichever one is worth most to your family is the one applied.
Stage and exams
Practice has to lead somewhere
Two recitals every year
Every student with a semester of instruction behind them performs at the Winter Concert and the Spring Gala — not only the advanced ones. Playing in front of an audience is the part that turns practice into confidence.
Professional photographs and video are provided, so families keep a record of how far a child has come.
Audition and exam preparation
- 01NYSSMA, ABRSM and MTNA evaluations
- 02LaGuardia High School auditions
- 03Performing arts school auditions
- 04College music auditions
- 05International and local competitions and festivals
Students playing
Hear how our students sound
Clips from recent recitals. This is the honest answer to how good the teaching is.
Faculty
Who your child will study with
Conservatory-trained musicians who perform as well as teach — several of them decades into careers that began in the conservatories of Odesa, Chișinău and New York.
Victoria Maslov
Head of the Music Department
Born into a musical family, Victoria entered music college at fourteen and graduated cum laude. She holds a Master of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music and a teaching certificate from the School for Strings in New York, and has performed across Europe and the United States.
She began teaching at sixteen. Many of her students have won competitions and gone on to professional careers in music. She chairs the Brooklyn division of the American College of Musicians, Piano Guild.
Larisa Taran
Piano
Larisa began studying at six and went on to the Tula Dargomyzhsky Music College and a graduate degree from the Melitopol Music Pedagogical Institute. She has spent her career as both a teacher and an accompanist, building technical foundations in young musicians.
Her students have won international festivals and competitions and have performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her teaching rests on one idea: that a student succeeds when they genuinely love the music first.
Lilia Brodskaya
Violin · Piano · Guitar
Lilia started violin at five and added piano and guitar by six, later earning a graduate degree from the Music Institute in Kishinev. She taught at the Odesa Music School while performing with a leading chamber ensemble.
In Sydney she founded a music school whose students performed annually at the Sydney Opera House. Her students have taken top honors in international competitions, and her teaching has been recognized with awards from New York State.
Alexander Negrutsa
Clarinet
A graduate of the Chișinău Conservatory, Alexander played in the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Moldova and the Opera Studio Orchestra while still a student, and was appointed professor of clarinet on graduating in 1995.
He has toured with orchestras and chamber ensembles across Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Germany, Romania and Ukraine, and took first prize at the Chamber Music Competition in Romania. He holds a Master’s in Clarinet Performance and completed professional studies at Mannes College of Music.
Lika Bezchastnova
Voice · Piano · Music Theory
Lika trained at the Emil Gilels Music School in Odesa and the Odesa National Academy of Music, and is currently studying at Juilliard Extension.
She teaches music as a language rather than a set of techniques — solfege, ear training and a working knowledge of the keyboard, so that a student can express themselves in music for the rest of their life, not only play the pieces they were taught.
The rooms
Where lessons happen
Five piano studios
Enough rooms that lessons never wait, and students learn on the kind of instrument they will perform on.
Digital piano lab
A group practices at the same time on headphones, each student hearing only their own playing.
Chamber orchestra room
Space for ensembles to rehearse together rather than squeezing into a teaching studio.
Vocal studio
A room set up for singers, where vocal work is not competing with the lesson next door.
Performance hall
Students rehearse and perform in the same hall, so a recital is never the first time they play on a stage.
Cancellations
What happens if you have to miss
A private lesson is a reserved hour of a teacher's day, so the notice you give changes what we can offer.
48+ hours
Choose either a make-up lesson or a tuition credit toward next month.
24–48 hours
We will try to arrange a make-up based on teacher and studio availability, though it cannot be guaranteed.
Under 24 hours
The lesson is forfeited — no make-up and no tuition credit.
Group & semi-private
Make-ups are not available for missed group or semi-private sessions, by the nature of the format.
Leaving the program. Thirty days' written notice is required to withdraw. Billing stops at the end of the notice period; tuition already paid is not refunded.
Holidays. Lessons follow the BSE academic calendar — none are held during major school holidays or scheduled breaks, unless announced or arranged with a family.
Questions
Before you book
Do we need an instrument at home?
Recommended, but not required for the first few weeks. Students may begin lessons before buying anything. Once your child shows they want to keep going, our faculty will help you choose an instrument — including the most affordable option that will still serve them.
How young can a child start?
From three years old. Adults are welcome too — a number of our students are parents who always meant to learn.
How long should a lesson be?
Families choose 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Younger beginners often start at 30 and move up as their attention and repertoire grow; the teacher will tell you when that moment arrives.
What does a month cost?
You are billed for the lessons actually scheduled that month — four lessons in a four-week month, five in a five-week one. BSE students pay the lower of the two rate columns. There is also a $35 registration fee, once a year, per student.
Can we choose our teacher?
You can request a specific instructor and we will do our best to place you with them — it comes down to what they have open in the hours you need.
Do lessons run during school holidays?
Lessons follow the BSE academic calendar, so there are none during major holidays or scheduled breaks unless we announce otherwise or a family asks to keep going.
What if we want to stop?
We ask for thirty days' written notice. Billing stops at the end of that period, and tuition already paid is not refunded.
Is music theory extra?
Music theory is part of any instrumental or voice lesson at no extra cost. It is only billed separately when a student enrolls in theory as its own individual or group program.
When can lessons be scheduled?
Monday to Friday between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. You keep the same weekly slot through the semester, and we can be flexible where a family's schedule needs it.
Does my child have to perform?
Every student with at least one semester of instruction behind them is included in the Winter Concert and Spring Gala — for our youngest students that becomes one year. We prepare them for it well in advance. Playing in front of people is a skill we teach, not a test we spring on anyone.
How will I know my child is making progress?
Teaching follows the ABRSM curriculum, which sets out what a student should be able to play, hear and understand at each level. Your teacher can tell you exactly where your child stands and what comes next, and students sit exams that lead to recognized diplomas.
Can music count toward college?
Yes. We run a dedicated AP Music Theory preparation course — a qualifying score on the exam can earn college credit — and we help high school students build a portfolio of recordings, repertoire and exam results for applications and scholarship panels.
Do you prepare for auditions and exams?
Yes — NYSSMA, ABRSM, MTNA, Piano Guild and Piano Congress evaluations, LaGuardia High School and other performing arts school auditions, college music auditions, and international and local competitions and festivals.
When does the school year start?
The school year begins September 8 and follows the BSE academic calendar through June. Enrollment is rolling, so you can start at any point in the year whenever there is space in a teacher's schedule — you do not have to wait for September or for the spring term.
Enroll
Find your lesson time
Tell us the instrument and when you are free, and we will come back with the teachers who have that slot open.
- Call347-988-9944
- Emailinfo.bse23@gmail.com
- Visit23 Brighton 11th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11235
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Contact the schoolThank you
We have your request and will call you back within one school day to confirm a lesson time.
Brooklyn School of Excellence · Music Institute · NY Smart Start
23 Brighton 11th St, Brooklyn NY 11235 · 347-988-9944
Music is for everyone.