The Salem Academy of Music was founded in 1846 to cultivate musical taste and science in the city of Salem, Massachusetts. Instruction was to be provided by Professors Manuel Emilio and Manuel Fenollosa. The salary of the professors was two dollars each per evening, and the number of evenings was not to exceed sixty. The admission fee for new members was five dollars.

The organization existed in Salem for just a short time, 1846-1857, according to the records in the collection, with many resignations of officers, withdrawal of resignations, disagreements about whether an orchestra should be included in the society, and whether there should be one or two conductors for the vocal and instrumental groups. A final record in the collection is the resignation of the secretary on February 8, 1857, and a record in the account book dated January 1, 1857 of "an amount of $22.00 divided among members."

In this collection there are only two printed programs of concerts performed by the Academy, one held on April 6, 1854, and the other given January 28, 1855. There is mention of a concert given for the July 4th ceremonies in 1854 for the city authorities at Mechanic Hall.