Music

Early Childhood students perform in two concerts each year — one in winter and one in spring — to share their musical progress with family and loved ones. The concerts take place in Evans Hall as students showcase songs, choreography, and musical instruments.

Early Childhood students study and perform a fully costumed and narrated version of Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, a beloved GSB tradition for over three decades.

As a favorite Lower School winter performance, Kindergarteners lead The Nutcracker play alongside Preschool and PreK students. In preparation for the show, students read and hear different versions of The Nutcracker in class, learn the music, and travel to see the ballet. After examining different interpretations of the tale, students create a book of their own, which stands nearly two feet high and is used during the performance. Each year’s class brings its unique personality and flair to the time-honored tradition and memorable rite of passage for our Kindergarten students.

Students host two concerts per school year to demonstrate what they've learned in the classroom. Lower School performances include the Winter Holiday Concert and the Spring Musical Concert. 

All 4th Grade students take part in our Band Explorer program. Students will learn each of the five most prominent beginning band instruments: flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and baritone. At the end of fourth grade, students can make an informed decision about which instrument to continue with in Middle School based on their interest and passion.

The Middle School choir program is open to all 5th - 8th graders and meets regularly during the school week. Singers meet for practice and rehearsals in our campus' historic chapel and perform two large concerts per school year. The choir is a non-audition program, meaning that all students are encouraged to participate and delve into our advanced choral literature. 

The Upper School Choir program proudly hosts winter and spring concerts each year held in the historic GSB chapel.

The GSB Modern Music Ensemble is open to all 9th through 12th grade students who have played an instrument for at least one year. The group rehearses during the day and plays a variety of both instrumental and vocal music covering a wide range of styles, including Jazz, Rock, Pop and Classic R&B and Funk. Song selection is often student driven and custom arrangements are written so that all students can participate, even if their instrument isn't a part of the original piece.

AP Music Theory is a year-long course which takes advanced musicians with existing knowledge of music theory through the equivalent of a first-year college music theory class.

Over the course, students will develop the skills used to analyze music both harmonically and structurally. Students will also spend a significant amount of time developing aural skills through sight-singing, recognition of intervals and chords, as well as melodic and harmonic dictation.