Music

Whether students are picking up an instrument for the first time, finding their rhythm, or simply want to sing their hearts out in chorus, music at Bancroft gives them room to explore, grow, and perform. From the earliest songs and movement activities to advanced ensembles, original compositions, and student-led performances, each experience builds on the one before. 

Learning Doesn’t Sit Still. Neither Should Your Sound.

At Bancroft School, we begin music with our earliest learners. Students sing, move, keep a beat, and discover the joy of making music together. In Lower School, they build those early skills through regular music classes and opportunities to join band, chorus, or strings.

By Middle School, students are reading and performing more complex music, strengthening their technique, and exploring everything from songwriting and jazz to handbells and Afro-Cuban drumming. In Upper School, musicians can continue into advanced ensembles, chorus, Rock Band, music theory, and music history.

Across every division, students learn to listen closely, contribute to an ensemble, and take creative risks. The child who first stands before the community to sing may later write an original song, perform in a concert, study the structure behind the music, or help lead an ensemble. At Bancroft, every note builds toward greater skill, confidence, and voice.

From Bancroft to the World Stage

At Bancroft, learning doesn’t sit still. For pianist Mackenzie Melemed ’13, that sense of movement has carried him from Worcester to concert halls around the world.

A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, a Steinway Artist, and a graduate of The Juilliard School’s Artist Diploma program, Mackenzie has built a career around extraordinary performance, thoughtful programming, and a deep belief that classical music can feel personal, immediate, and alive.

His concerts bring audiences closer to the music through world-class performance and storytelling. Whether he is performing core repertoire, introducing rarely heard works, or premiering new music written for him, Mackenzie invites listeners to hear with curiosity.

That spirit feels familiar.

“Bancroft was the school that gave me the tools to even consider attempting a project this large,” Mackenzie recently wrote to us.

For Mackenzie, those tools began long before the international stages, major orchestras, and ambitious artistic projects. At Bancroft, students are encouraged to wonder, investigate, create, and contribute. They are asked to take risks, use their voice, and follow questions wherever they lead.

It is a career built on discipline, curiosity, and connection.

And it is a reminder that the Bancroft experience does not end at graduation. It keeps moving through the work our alumni do, the questions they continue to ask, and the ways they share their talents with the world.

Mackenzie Melemed ’13 is living proof that learning doesn’t sit still.