It was another "Who's who?" event in Tapa as the music school celebrated its 50th anniversary. A student concert was held Friday night, March 16, and students and graduates of the school performed in a concert Saturday afternoon, March 17. Both concerts were held in Tapa's culture house.
Those in attendance at the Saturday concert included Lääne Viru's governor Urmas Tamm, Tapa's mayor Kuno Rooba, Tapa Gümnaasium's director (and my boss) Elmu Koppelmann, and many, many flower-bearing friends and colleagues from throughout the country.
Tapa Music School opened in the fall of 1957, sharing rooms with the city's elementary school. In 1960, it moved to the old culture house, and in 2000 it moved into the same building as the public library. This building, recently renovated, dates back to 1930, when it housed the city's government offices.
Ilmar Mägi was the school's first director. Peeter Kald (pictured above with Tamm and below with Rooba) has been the director since 1979.
Many Estonian towns have music schools, where they are often second only to the local elementary in educating children and preparing them for successful lives as teenagers and young adults.
