Welcome to Columbia: The Columbia School of Music
Some businesses begin with a person or idea. We began with a big fancy house.
I am Christopher Prestia, and I love Victorian architecture. I've always dreamt of living in a lavish, grand space with tall windows and gracious doorways. The difficulty has always been finding the right building. Most original Victorians have been altered or modernized beyond their original grandeur, or are so large they are impractical or unaffordable. But 401 Walnut Street in Columbia was a perfect blank slate with its largely unaltered floor plan, unpainted woodwork, sound structure, and manageable size with its rear section turned into an apartment. I decided to have two formal rooms on the first floor, my kitchen and casual living/dining space on the second, and sleeping area on the third. With my private living space so separated from the “public” entertaining rooms of the house, and with still more square footage than I really needed, it was easy to decide to open the first floor to the community.
I considered making it into a tea room and art gallery (I love art and food), and I thought about creating a small event space; I even thought about making a spiritual reading and meditation space as a repose from our noisy world. But the best of what I have to offer is music, especially music education. Besides, if I were to use the whole space as my home, the first floor rooms would have had my musical instrument collection and music library, so a music school was the most natural fit.
The rest, as they say, is history.
As I learned more and more about Columbia, the more I fell in love with the Borough. Columbia is a place where people actually walk the streets and talk to each other! I immediately felt the sense of community, and saw the potential for a community of amateur and professional musicians.
The Columbia School of Music is not just about music lessons and student recitals, but it's also about personal growth and human connection. It's a place to belong and to learn. It's a place to realize your dreams. It's a place to pursue your passion.
