PROGRAM LEVELS

(What are levels?)

Levels 5 & 6
Since KMI accepts students from all over the region into the Young Artist Program, these students often come to KMI with widely varying backgrounds. In most cases, students will have deficiencies in one or more areas (theory, musicology, technique, or repertoire) and the student might be accepted based on potential demonstrated by accomplishment in another area.

This may even be true for KMI students who have been accepted into the Young Artist Program after completing the Core Curriculum. Many students will often decide to become serious after several years of music study where they barely scraped by. The acceptance of such students into the program is based on the faculty’s knowledge of the student’s potential and the student’s promise to work harder in the future despite mediocre efforts in the past.

For these reasons, Levels 5 & 6 are important years in the program, as many students will have to work hard to catch up to their peers who have a more solid background. The faculty will counsel the entering students in these levels every term to ensure they are making progress toward completing the requirements for their level and will be prepared for the much more difficult levels to come.

Students who fail to complete the background requirements necessary to advance to Level 7 will be asked to withdraw from the program, and continue their studies in the Music Appreciation Program.

Levels 7, 8 & 9
The middle levels are the hard work years during which a student really begins to master difficult techniques, agility, acceleration and complex musical concepts. Theoretically, the student should be in 7th, 8th and 9th grade respectively although some students can complete level 9 in the 10th grade and still be able to gain entrance to music school.

Students who fail to complete the requirements necessary to advance to Level 10, or who demonstrate inconsistent or insufficient work habits, will be asked to withdraw from the program, and continue their studies in the Music Appreciation Program.

Levels 10, 11, & 12
These are the most advanced levels, and any student wishing to audition to music school must complete Level 10 by the end of the Senior year in high school, and should complete Level 10 by the Junior year or earlier. All focus during these levels will be on preparing for music school auditions, including all the technique and repertoire requirements.

Students not intending to audition to music school, are free to explore the plethora of musical literature available at these levels and are encouraged to master a sampling of works by many different composers from all the periods.

DOWNLOAD YOUNG ARTIST APPLICATION

(See BEYOND BEGINNER for more understanding of music study at the intermediate and advanced levels.)

(See SERIOUS STUDENTS for more understanding of serious study at these levels.)