Music

Beginner or virtuoso? Somewhere in between? Groton’s music lessons support and challenge musicians at every level. Many students take voice or an instrument for the first time. Others arrive with extensive experience and work with our faculty of professional musicians to reach even higher, stunning Groton audiences with their complex pieces.

You can choose any band or orchestral instrument, or perhaps a less mainstream option such as harpsichord or pipe organ (we have two of each), banjo, or bagpipes. Take piano and perform on one of our eight performance grand pianos. Take guitar for fun, then play with friends at an open mic night.

You will perform. All students taking lessons for credit prepare a fall jury performance and participate in both winter and spring student recitals. Most non-credit students perform in recitals, too. Besides more than twenty student recitals, Groton musicians perform at a Parents Weekend concert, three Lessons and Carols services, the annual Jazz Festival, morning and Sunday Chapel services, spring concerts, open mics, and special events

Groton School’s Choir is one of the most advanced high school singing groups in New England. In Chapel each Sunday, the Choir, accompanied by the school’s historic Aeolian-Skinner organ, presents a repertoire representing both the Western Classical tradition and new expressions of contemporary and global music. Students in the Choir improve their vocal technique and sight-reading skills through weekly rehearsals. At Groton, unlike many peer schools, Choir is an academic subject and meets as part of the curriculum. You will always have time to sing.

Every December since 1919, the Choir has performed a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, a traditional, beautiful Christmas service. Three services draw a combined crowd of nearly one thousand listeners each year, and another thousand Grotonians tune in to a livestream from all over the world.

Another major performance comes each spring: the Craig E. Smith Spring Concert, named for former choirmaster Craig Smith (1977–2005), typically features a major work with a professional orchestra.

Listen to Lessons & Carols.

The Edward B. Gammons Concert Series, a treasure on campus and within surrounding communities, offers free concerts by noteworthy professional musicians. The series’ mission is to expose students to a wide range of musical styles and to raise their awareness of what is possible in music, and, therefore, in human expression.

Recent performances have included a rock band powered by audience members who pedaled bicycles, a virtuoso harpist, a contemporary jazz combo, an experimental “bowed” pianist, a woodwind quintet, and a renowned cello quartet. Concerts, recitals, and other performances are usually in the Edward B. Gammons Recital Hall, a light-filled space in Groton’s Schoolhouse.