About Us
Gaston School of the Arts (GSOA) provides quality, affordable arts instruction in music, art and drama for children and adults in Gaston County, North Carolina and the surrounding area. The School's children's theatre, GSOA Playhouse, was founded in 2000 to give local young people performance and educational opportunities in all the theatre arts. GSOA is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors and is an affiliate receiving funds from the United Arts Council of Gaston County. Because GSOA is a partner with Gaston County Schools, our instructors undergo background checks and hold 4 year degrees or the equivalent professional experience in their specialties. GSOA employees between 17-22 part-time instructors per year.
Summer Camps in Art, Music & Drama
In the summer, GSOA provides a complete schedule of Summer Arts Camps in music, art and drama for childen and art classes for adults and high school students.
Scholarships
GSOA provides need and talent-based scholarship opportunities, and awards between 5-15 scholarships a year.
Outreach Camps
GSOA also provides summer outreach arts camps for Gaston County Boys & Girls Clubs and for the Gaston Co. ESL (English as a Second Language Program) summer program. These camps are funded by North Carolina's Grassroots Grants and distributed locally through the United Arts Council (UAC).
Curriculum
-The School provides individual instruction in piano, woodwinds, violin, banjo, mandolin, guitar, percussion and voice throughout the year. The School also offers group class instruction for children in visual arts and drama during the school year and summer arts camps in drama, music and visual art for ages 3-15.
- Adult art classes include oil & acrylic, drawing, watercolor and pottery.
- “A Taste of the Arts” teaches music, drama and art in an age-appropriate curriculum for children from 3-8 years old (divided by age groups) and ends with a “mini theatre” production for parents.
-"Music for Little Mozarts" is a small group class of 3-5 children which introduces piano and music appreciation for children 4-7 years old (divided by age groups). It uses the adventures of "Beethoven Bear" and "Mozart Mouse" to introduce musical concepts in a child-friendly format.
GSOA Playhouse
Our children’s theatre, GSOA Playhouse, founded in 2000, offers young people training and performance opportunities in theatre. GSOA Playhouse has produced 20 fully-staged productions including several summer camp productions.