Center of Musical Studies Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521962698
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
- Phone
- 3015877848
- Rating
- 48
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $13,006
- Expenses
- $200,843
- Assets
- $8,529
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALEXANDER KATSNELSON (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- LESLIE HYDE (SECRETARY-TREASURER)
- ALEXANDER KATSNELSON (PRESIDENT)
- ANDREW G HYDE (BOARD MEMBER)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Conducts music and arts festival on the amalfi coast, italy.
What it reported doing in 2025
In late 2024/early 2025 the Center of Musical Studies learned that certain facilities (rehearsal space, practice rooms, concert hall) critical to its successful operations, would no longer be available in its longtime location. Efforts to find a suitable short-term solution in the surrounding area were unproductive. In addition, costs had risen dramatically in that part of Italy. As a result, the major activity of CMS was temporarily suspended for the 2025 season. Instead, the organization committed itself to revising its mission. CMS officers invested their time and efforts in exploring and evaluating potential locations in Italy and France, among others. CMS officers also consulted with the board about adapting its activity in order to adjust to the new realities on the ground. The outcome thus far has been a shift to shorter, more limited programs targeted at a different demographic. In 2026 CMS has undertaken two short, highly focused programs in April and October of this year. These programs have garnered full attendance and been targeted at audiences that do not need the space required in the past.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 29
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 11
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 43.7%; rating input score 44
- Program expense ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 3
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1,444.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 37.1%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -15.3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 43.7% of revenue deployed · 2.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 2 filed program accomplishments · $6K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 44/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.