RELEVANCE. The study is a brief outline of the initial stage of the formation of a regional system of professional music education. Various aspects of this process are considered, facts and examples are given that characterize this system based on the activities of the Tambov branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society. The goal is to substantiate the thesis that the regional tradition of public education inherits the best features of the domestic system of professional music education.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The material obtained through analysis, generalization and systematization of the results of research at the initial stage of the formation of the regional system of music education in the Tambov region is presented.RESULT AND DISCUSSION. The connection between the regional system of music education and public education and all-Russian and all-European cultural trends and traditions is traced. The main aspects of the work of the Tambov branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society are highlighted, corresponding to the general liberal direction of social thought of the mid-19th – early 20th centuries. The sociocultural context of the early twentieth century is reconstructed, justifying the installation of busts of M.I. Glinka and A.G. Rubinstein in the niches of the memorial building of the Tambov Music School, now the Tambov State Music-Pedagogical Institute named after S.V. Rachmaninov.CONCLUSION. The presented material is intended for wide use in the practice of promoting regional cultural heritage, primarily excursion and tourist support for cultural and leisure programs.