An Update on the Gilmore Education Department

November 2, 2020

child holding keyboard
Featured in the Fall 2020 Key of G Newsletter

 

PIANO LABS ARE BACK!

2020 has been a year of uncertainty and change, but The Gilmore is happy to announce that piano students and parents can rely on one bit of happy news: Piano Labs are back for the school year!

Enrollment has begun at all six Piano Lab locations, and will continue throughout the Fall. “We’re keeping the enrollment deadline flexible this year,” said Gilmore Education Director Adam Schumaker. “Parents are dealing with a lot just getting their kids up and running with regular school classes; we want to give everyone a chance to settle in at their own pace.”

Classes will be taught virtually, once a week, by Gilmore instructors. Mr. Schumaker spent weeks over the summer speaking with parents and principals, seeking input on how much time students could realistically spend on lessons and the best time of day to present classes. At the same time, he and his team learned a great deal from the online summer Piano Labs and were able to make adjustments and improvements to the technology along the way.

“Our goal is to provide a fun learning experience for piano students and to make it as easy as possible for teachers and parents to support them,” Mr. Schumaker said. “The Gilmore is focused on keeping music alive now, and in the months to come – this is one very important way to do it.”

 

NO PIANO? NO PROBLEM! 

Imagine greeting your piano teacher for your weekly lesson, opening the music, and sitting down to…no piano. This frustrating scenario was a reality for dozens of piano students when the coronavirus hit and Piano Labs went virtual. Rather than eliminate the Labs, The Gilmore responded by creating Keys2Kids, a program that loans digital keyboards free of charge to enrolled students. 

“In a way, the pandemic was the catalyst for something we had been wanting to do for a long time,” said Gilmore Education Director Adam Schumaker. “Students who didn’t have a piano at home couldn’t practice, which would lead to their own frustration at a lack of progress. Now we have a program in place that takes care of it all.”

Mr. Schumaker and his team are reaching out to parents and teachers to let them know about the program. In the meantime, questions can be sent to [email protected]

Buy Tickets

Join us for our in person and virtual events!

Learn More

All content © 2024 Irving S. Gilmore International Piano Festival