BISB High School Student Earns Places in Two Competitive Summer Programs

Now, Giorgio, a Year 12 student at the British International School of Boston, a Boston private school, will be spending part of his summer studying music composition at the Boston Conservatory and another part at a Brown University economics program.

“It’s going to be a busy summer,” he said Wednesday. “But the learning that I will be getting in both of these courses will be really helpful.”

Both courses, Giorgio said, will help him delve more deeply into the study of both music composition and economics. While he’s seriously considering studying economics and finance in college, music, he said, is a passion.

After years of studying the piano, with daily practice sessions and weekly lessons, Giorgio said he began to write his own music on the piano about four months ago. After performing a few original pieces at a British International School of Boston concert in December, his confidence grew and he decided to applying to the Boston Conservatory program.

“For me, composition is a way to express emotions,” he said. “When I started composing I started to really get a connection with the piano. I could talk to it. I knew what sound it was going to make before I played it...I just feel like I’m in my own little world. It’s very peaceful.”

The Boston Conservatory’s High School Composition Intensive is a competitive two-week program designed to challenge and engage students who are serious about music composition. Young composers from around the world take part in rigorous daily practice through faculty-led assignments and individual instruction in ear training and theory. By the end of the course, each student writes four new works to be performed and recorded by a local orchestra. The songs the students write will even be able on iTunes.

Giorgio said that while he was confident in his ability to play piano well, he was still surprised he was accepted to the Conservatory’s summer program. While he does not plan to study music in college, he hopes the program will help him to grow his love of music and develop new skills.

“Music is something that whether I’m stressed, happy or sad, I play it and it will make me feel better no matter what situation I am in,” he said. “It’s just something for me. But want to continue to learn it and to be able to share it with others.”

While the Boston Conservatory Summer Program might be fueling the high school student’s passions, the Brown University economics program will be preparing Giorgio for his desired career path.

Giorgio will study economics and finance for three weeks with students from around the United States and the world, learning from professors at the renowned university and exploring its Providence home.

For Giorgio, the course is just another step toward the career in finance he is hoping to pursue after high school and college.

Last summer, he worked for two weeks at State Street, a well-known investment firm in London, as part of the British International School of Boston’s required work experience program.

Like that experience, Giorgio said, he’s hoping the summer economics course will help him make important decisions about college majors and his future education.

“If this is really want I want to do (for a career), the last thing I want is to go through years of college and get a job and then discover I don’t really like it,” he said. “I think it will be great to get some exposure to what it’s really like. This is a really good road to start down.”

Congratulations to Giorgio on his success! We can't wait to hear more about what he learns!