Lilla Akademien

Lilla Akademien is a school, founded 1994, specially focused on developing musical talent, located in Stockholm, Sweden. Director of Music is Nina Balabina, Russian violinist and violin teacher.

Lilla Akademien, best translated as "The Junior Academy", is a unique school specialising in music. Housed in an historic building in downtown Stockholm, it was founded in 1994 by a group of music teachers under the leadership of Nina Balabina. In its early years, it provided instrumental tuition for young children at the end of the school day, but since 1998 offered full-time tuition in music and regular schooling for children from 6 years of age and up. It eventually expanded to include a gymnasium or senior high school, and in 2005 the first graduates to receive their diplomas donned their student caps on the school campus, in the traditional Swedish manner, to the cheers of friends, family members, and younger schoolmates. In a few short years, Lilla Akademien has become one of the most significant institutions for the education of young musicians in Scandinavia, and has established itself as an important part of the Stockholm musical scene. In 2006 Lilla Akademien opened a post-gymnasial 'Pre-college' to help bridge the gap between school and higher musical education.

The aim of Lilla Akademien is to give all its pupils a solid musical foundation on which to build, whether or not they choose to become professional musicians in the future. The musical life of the school is intense, and great care is taken to foster a joyful rather than competitive spirit in performance. Priority is given to the creation of an artistic personality for each pupil, many of whom have backgrounds in countries other than Sweden. The school is very proud of its international atmosphere, which reflects the multicultural flavour of Stockholm.

At Lilla Akademien children receive individual lessons in one or more instruments, including piano, organ, violin, viola, cello, double bass, recorder, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, harp and percussion. Class music lessons include music theory, aural training, music history, and - in the gymnasium - musical analysis. All pupils sing in a choir. The musical programme is complemented by courses in dance, the visual arts and foreign languages. The school follows the Swedish national curriculum and also offers after-school activities for the younger children. The school has five orchestras and numerous ensembles. Rehearsals and concert performances are seen as a highly important part of the pupils' education. Pupils have performed both at home and abroad and have been awarded major prizes in international competitions.

The school leadership strives to establish an extensive network of international contacts for pupil exchanges, guest teacher programmes, and concerts in other countries. Collaborative ventures have already taken place with similar schools in England, Estonia and other parts of Europe.

External links

* [http://www.lillaakademien.se/ Lilla Akademien]