WA to Add a Strings Program in 2023-24 School Year
The Woodstock Academy to Add Strings Program in 2023-24 School Year
(February 15, 2023) – The Woodstock Academy is rounding out its award-winning music department with the addition of a string program in the 2023-24 school year. The Academy prides itself on offering a variety of diverse academic programs, including a stellar music program that has garnered recognition for its ensembles and individual performers at the regional, state, and national levels. Expanding the music program to include string courses will allow more opportunities for student musicians to hone their skills and share their talents.
“We have noticed many of our students from around the world and from our sending towns are coming to The Academy with a background in or an interest in classical stringed instruments, such as the violin and the cello,” said Dr. Michael Harten, dean of academics at The Woodstock Academy. “A string program will be a great opportunity for those students to practice their skills, get involved, and perform for the WA community.”
Cellist and WA sophomore Kate Ritzau currently travels to West Hartford to take private lessons and perform with an orchestra. For her, a string program is a welcome addition at WA. “It’s opening the doors to inspire even more people to join the music department,” said Ritzau. “Having a good, reliable program to help students learn strings will make a huge difference to students like me, who commute long distances to receive instruction for stringed instruments.”
In recent years, WA student musicians have performed at Carnegie Hall, Mohegan Sun, Berklee Jazz Festival, Disney World, Hartford XL Center, All-State Music Festival, New England Music Festival, and the UConn Jazz Festival.
“It is always exciting when we can introduce a new element of music to our students,” said Fine Arts Department Chair Amy Ranta. “It is my hope that over time the introduction to strings classes will grow into an orchestral ensemble.”
A strings club was offered this year, and string courses will be open to all students in the fall, regardless of their musical background or previous experience. These courses will augment the already exceptional music department at WA, which currently offers more than a dozen courses, from Music Technology and Production to Musical Theatre, and includes 4 choral groups and 4 instrumental ensembles. The Woodstock Academy is excited to provide even more opportunities for student musicians in 2023 and to expand the school’s comprehensive Arts offerings with this new program.
*****
The Woodstock Academy is an independent, day and boarding, co-educational, college preparatory high school for grades 9–12 and postgraduates located in Woodstock, CT. The mission of The Woodstock Academy is to prepare all students by providing diverse opportunities through a rigorous curriculum and a variety of programs in order to cultivate the necessary skills to become lifelong learners and global citizens.
