Friday, October 25, 2024
Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University’s Greenwood School of Music Preparatory Academy has introduced two new services this fall. Satellite Program, which provides private music instruction in Stillwater Public Schools, and GSM Prep Rock Academy, which provides pre-college students with the opportunity to form a band.
Building on its established community outreach and outreach efforts, GSM Preparatory Academy has partnered with Stillwater Public Schools music instructors to organize a new satellite program. GSM Students provides affordable music instruction to middle school and high school students at SPS facilities, a win-win for everyone involved.
“We believe this program serves two purposes: (GSM) students gain teaching experience in a real school environment; to give students the opportunity to benefit from real-life shared lessons from Greenwood School of Music students,” said Dr. Bradley Genebro, OSU band director and GSM conducting professor. “Providing resources to the community is important to us.”
Flutist Hannah Hartwig and trumpeter Jonathan Hall are both OSU students who currently teach middle school students as part of the satellite program.
“This is an interesting twist on the student-teacher relationship,” Hartwig said. “We’re students too, so we can really connect with them. Seeing their exponential growth is my favorite part. Sharing what we’ve learned and how it translates into music in our own way.” It’s especially special to see it come together so well.”
The one-on-one training provided by GSM students aims to accelerate the progress of young musicians by tailoring the curriculum to each instructor’s specific needs.
“I always tell my students that the goal of my lessons is to help them improve as much as possible and to see them improve,” Hall said. “We want them to continue to love music and graduate from high school believing that music is something special. By instilling a love and appreciation for classical and orchestral music, There may be more support for musicians.”
The new Rock Academy at GSM Preparatory Academy offers students a different kind of musical appreciation by allowing them to form a band, learn an instrument, and rehearse with fellow musicians on the OSU campus.
According to Dr. Mark Perry, Rock Academy develops better musicians and has a direct impact on student improvement outside of music, increasing their success at school and at home.
“I have the same hopes for GSM Prep Rock Academy as one of our founders, Jesse Tabish of Other Lives, to give back to the community and promote local music in Stillwater and the surrounding area. It’s about nurturing talent,” said GSM’s Perry. Associate Professor and Director of OSU’s Music Industry Program. “We also plan to host concerts at local Stillwater music venues throughout the year, as well as perform at the annual Stillwater Festival, Dancing Turtles.”
Greenwood School of Music plans to expand both the GSM Preparatory Academy satellite program and Rock Academy in the spring 2025 semester to include more students and teachers and add more instruments to band lessons.
“It’s rewarding to share how music has impacted our lives and why we chose to pursue it as a career,” Hartwig said. “It is important to continue music education so that others can see what we have. We have a duty to share the knowledge, history and tradition of our instruments with the world.”
Story Author: Adeola Favour, CAS Graduate Student Assistant | fadeola@okstate.edu
