Hi! My name is Eric Nehring. I am the Founder, Owner, and Principal here at Minnesota School of Music. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our website.

As a husband, educator, and father of four, my life’s mission is to live “Guided by Christ, in Service of Others.” And at MnSOM, that is what we are all about—serving others. Though we’ve grown to become a nationally recognized school in just a few short years, we began with very humble roots. For those of you who like “rags-to-not-quite-riches” stories, feel free to grab a mug of your choice beverage and cozy up in your favorite E-Z chair.

It was May, 2013. I was teaching at the University of Minnesota as a Doctor of Musical Arts student. My wife and I had one child, and were expecting our second. Though teaching at a Big 10 university was an incredible honor, I felt unfulfilled. Sure, I was teaching. But, “Am I really making a difference?” I often asked. Driven by the desire to mentor young people, I did what any married father awaiting a second child would do—I quit my job and started a music school. Well, sort of.

You see, we didn’t exactly have any students. We didn’t yet have a building. Aaaaand…we didn’t have any money. Worst of all, very few people believed in us. Frankly, it was hard. Demoralizing. Maybe you have been there. Before we even got started, we were ready to give up. Thankfully, God had a different plan.

In June 2013, we began selling all of the personal belongings we could. TV’s, radios, mini-fridges, the list goes on. Every day was a different item and a different pawn shop. To save on expenses, we often ate toast for dinner and I began cutting my own hair (it was ugly). But, by mid-Summer, we managed to save $155 and on July 13, 2013, we officially filed with the MN Secretary of State—Minnesota School of Music was born.

In August, we rented a bedroom of a rambler home. Modest, but it was a start. We began placing flyers around town, set up a few internet profiles and, within a week, we had enrolled our first student. By September, we had three. Then, October came and we had earned just enough to build a DIY website. By Christmas, we had a total of 12 students and were beginning to smile again. Fast forward.

In May of 2014 we opened our first commercial location. Over the next 6 months, we grew. And grew. And grew. By December 2014 we had outgrown our space and signed a lease on a 2500 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in Blaine. To say we have been blessed would be an understatement. But it wasn’t easy.

What began as a dream has blossomed into a full-blown reality. We now open our doors to hundreds of guests each week. Our customers are people who share our values of family, education, and hard work—people who want their children mentored by positive role models. This is a responsibility we take very seriously and we are grateful to have earned the trust of our community. We continue to work tirelessly toward our vision of becoming Minnesota’s leading music lesson provider. And if we sound like a company who you can relate to, we’d like to welcome you as well.

If you are still reading, I invite you to give us a try. If, after your first lesson, you are not completely convinced you’ve come to the right place, we will refund 100% of your remaining tuition. This is a guarantee we have offered since we began in 2013; a guarantee we proudly stand behind; and, due to our high customer satisfaction rate, a guarantee we have never been asked to honor.

If you would like your child to learn music from people who share your values, give us a call.
We’d be honored to welcome you.

Sincerely,
Eric Nehring,
Principal