In the 2023-2024 school year, students participating in band or choir will have the opportunity to attend their respective class before school with the implementation of a new conservatory block. While it will not be available for students in orchestra next year, the music coordinators hope that orchestra will be included in the future. This new block will meet three times a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday starting at 7:33 AM. The coordinators chose the start to make the conservatory block the same length as a normal music block, providing a seamless transition for students deciding to attend.

The main benefit of a block before school is that it allows students to continue participating in a music class without sacrificing one of their elective blocks. The Music Department Coordinator, Thomas Grandprey, explains that, “One of the challenges for students is to fit in music as well as to take all of the other courses that they want to take. With one elective slot in the schedule, students have to make a choice… This [conservatory block] would open up the opportunity to do both [electives].” The new conservatory block was the perfect option for eighth grader Henry Frasca to continue pursuing music as well as taking other classes. He explains, “I want to double enroll in French and Mandarin, as well as do music.” Already, students have trouble fitting in music with all of the other electives that L-S provides without doing a wrap, which can lead to struggles catching up in their classes. The conservatory block would provide the same FATA credits to the student as a standard class. If you are considering taking band or choir next year but don’t know how to fit it into your schedule, consider the music conservatory block. You can select this block as an elective in Aspen.