Music education at King School begins in PreK and extends through grade 12. As part of our prestigious arts program at King School, our music arts attract the most students because of the wide range of opportunities that it holds.
Below is a list of highlighted courses available to the Upper School. For a full list of Music courses and curriculum please refer to the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School Curriculum Guides.
We also invite you to enjoy some of our wonderful performances.
This course is designed for students brand new to the guitar or with minimal knowledge of the instrument. Students are taught all the open chords, beginning with bar chords, basic note reading, major and pentatonic scales. This knowledge is applied to as many pieces of music as possible. Students are required to have their own guitar to use for practice.
This course is designed for students who would like to learn how to play the piano. Students are taught how to read music and learn how the notes translate to the keyboard. Students are required to practice outside of class. Topics covered include rhythm drills, melody phrasing, and playing chords and various styles of music. There is no prerequisite for this course, though enrollment is limited to the number of keyboards the School has available for the semester.
This course is designed to provide opportunities for students to work on various styles of music ranging from Madrigals to Musical theater. In this small class setting, students will have opportunities to sing challenging music and receive more individualized attention. Students enrolled in this course must also be enrolled in choir.
Middle School students rehearsed for six weeks to prepare for an exciting three-day Broadway performance aptly named The Show Must Go On! Despite the many challenges that the students faced this year with social distancing measures still in place, these young performers were able to create a virtual experience to bring the musicals to life. The show featured a combination of live solo, duet and trio performances accompanied by prerecorded full-cast and small group acts.
King hosted its sixth annual El Sistema Residency, in which talented musicians from King's Middle and Upper Schools collaborated in intensive music workshops with visiting students of various El Sistema USA programs, including Stamford's own Project Music.
The residency's overarching focus is to inspire a deeper connection between communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds by using music as a vehicle to give voice to diverse cultural identities and amplify lived experiences.
Four King students were selected to participate in the All-State Musical Festival hosted by the Connecticut Music Education Association from April 23-25, 2021. The selection process is highly competitive and involves preliminary qualification through the organization's Western Regional auditions before becoming eligible for All-State.
"I'm impressed by the students' creativity, maturity, and thoughtfulness in tackling the show's themes. They are successfully bringing to life the challenging and sometimes frightening aspects confronting adolescents," said Mark Silence, the show's director.
Grade 6 student Alicia Leng and grade 8 student Olivia Asnes love to sing, but they also enjoy that choir includes non-singing activities. We also "learn how to read notes, find out if you are singing the correct pitch, and learn how music can impact the world," says Olivia.
"I've been looking forward to being a part of this since pre-K," states grade 5 student Eden Weisel. "We are learning about ancient civilizations. It has been amazing to be able to act out Greek myths and bring these stories to life." Eden plays Demeter, daughter of Persephone. "It is a story about the power of a mother's love for her child," she adds.