The preparatory division is for anyone of any age. Most kids start there and can take private lessons. There are many teachers that are really amazing. Some are graduates of top music colleges. They do have to pay a tuition for the GMSPD. The full scholarship division is all payed for for every student. The classes and orchestra rehearsals are free. The ages are anywhere from eight to eighteen years old.
Kids in the Gifted Music School choose to spend their Saturdays at the Gifted Music School taking more classes, but all involved with music. I have been in the program since i was nine years old. That is seven years. I love the Gifted Music School because I feel everyone there is someone I can relate to. Many of my absolute best friends come from the Gifted Music School.
Many of the students of the Gifted Music School go on to many different good colleges. Some people choose to go into music, while others go into academics. We have had people going to Curtis, Julliard, New England, Peabody, Colburn, and many more to study music. Kids who go into academics have made top schools like Stanford.
The Gifted Music School is similar to actual school because we take different classes that are each at a specific time. The pianists have a slightly different schedule than the string players.
The pianists start with music literature. We learn about different composers and go over the pieces they wrote. Some of the pieces we go really into the form and the meanings behind the piece. Our next class is Keyboard skills. We learn to read all five clefs and get really good at sight-reading music. I am really horrible at that class because it is hard for my brain to think that fast.
After keyboard skills, everybody gets a half-hour lunch break. We usually eat lunch and just talk. Sometimes we go outside and walk around. Once in a while, people will bring in lunch for us. Those are the best days because it is usually really good food.
After lunch we have solfege and ear-training. It is exactly what it sounds like. We have to train our ears to help us with our music and get perfect pitch. After that, we go to theory. Theory is divided by ability. I am in theory four which is the highest level this year. I have done theory for the past five years.
There are at least three concerts a school year. We have a fall, winter, and spring concert. The orchestra rehearses during the first three hours of GMS. That is when they work on their pieces for the concerts. Most of the concerts get a special guest to come and conduct or play with the orchestra. There are usually lots of people who come to watch the orchestra and many are very impressed with how good the kids are. We even got to premier a brand new piece in one of the concerts. Sometimes we also have some solos instead of the whole orchestra. We even include the Suzuki preparatory division in the concerts.
All of these classes can get a little bit hard sometimes, but I learn so much that it is worth my time to take all of these. I will be so sad when I graduate high school and I can't come back to the Gifted Music School. The school has grown every year. More students join, more teachers come, and more people come to the concerts.
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