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.
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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
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