Music schools in Slovenia at the end of the school year 2013/14 and at the beginning of 2014/15

14% of basic school pupils attend music schools

In the last few years the total number of children and youth enrolled in basic music and dance education has been almost the same at around 25,500. Among all, slightly more than 23,400 were basic school pupils, which is 14% of total basic school population.

In the school year 2014/15, 583 pupils were enrolled in pre-school music education, 3,065 in preparatory music and dance schools, 20,630 in the music program and 1,293 in the dance program.

One in four pupils learns to play the piano and one in ten learns to play the violin, the guitar or the flute

The three most representative groups of instruments studied by children and youth in music schools are keyboard instruments, woodwind instruments and bowed string instruments. As regards individual instruments, the majority of pupils are learning to play the piano (one in four), while one in ten pupils learns to play the violin, the guitar or the flute.

In the last five years there has been a decrease in interest among the young in learning to play the blockflute (compared to the school year 2010/11 enrollment decreased by 16.8%) and in learning to play keyboard instruments (enrolment decreased by 5.6%). On the other hand, in the same period a significantly increased interest in learning to play woodwind instruments (compared to the school year 2010/11 enrollment increased by 8.7%) and in learning percussion instruments (compared to the school year 2010/11 enrollment increased by 7.5%) was observed.

More than one in four participants in the music program are in the school orchestras

Students of music schools in the higher grades of the lower level and at the higher level are involved in the school orchestras. Participation in the school orchestras is an important supplement and added value to solo instruments and encourages students to mutual cooperation, consistency and accuracy. In the school year 2014/15, 221 school orchestras were operating within the music schools with 5,601 pupils included or more than a quarter of all students in the music program. Most pupils took part in woodwind orchestras (70 orchestras with 2,277 members), followed by string orchestras (65 orchestras with 1,455 members and symphony orchestras (20 orchestras with 819 members).

Slightly more than 3,000 pupils completed the lower or upper levels of music and dance programs in the school year 2013/14

In the school year 2013/14, of the total of 3,034 pupils who completed music and dance programs 2,261 completed the lower level and 773 completed the upper level. The majority of pupils who completed studies at the lower and upper levels finished piano lessons.