If your child is serious about music, theatre, dance, or another performing art, the Metro Atlanta area offers so many strong performing arts schools to choose from. Some schools are true audition-based magnets with specialized arts training built into the school day. Others are traditional high schools with unusually deep fine arts programs, large ensembles, and strong preparation for All-State, college auditions, and pre-professional work. That distinction matters, because a student who wants conservatory-style training may need something very different from a student who wants a strong orchestra or chorus program inside a more traditional academic setting.
At Metro Music Makers, we work with students across Atlanta and the surrounding area in their homes and online, and that gives us a practical view of how different school environments fit different kinds of young musicians. The company began with one piano teacher, Allison Jarrell, and now offers in-home and online music instruction built around each student’s goals, pace, and learning style. That kind of outside instruction can make a major difference whether a student is applying to an arts magnet, preparing an audition package, or simply trying to raise their level inside a traditional school program. Contact us for piano lessons in Atlanta, piano lessons in Marietta, piano lessons in Johns Creek, and voice, guitar, violin, or other instruction in the Atlanta area. We would be happy to work with you.
Some Metro Atlanta Schools Are True Arts Magnets, While Others Are Strong Arts-Rich High Schools
This is worth saying plainly at the start. In the Atlanta area, not every strong arts school is a formal performing arts high school. Schools like DeKalb School of the Arts, Tri-Cities High School’s Visual and Performing Arts Magnet, North Springs High School’s Visual and Performing Arts Magnet, Pebblebrook’s Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts, and Gwinnett School of the Arts all have an audition-based or conservatory-style structure. Schools like Walton, Johns Creek, and Athens Academy are different. They are not all-purpose performing arts magnets, but they can still be excellent environments for students who want serious musical training and strong ensembles.
DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates
DeKalb School of the Arts is one of the clearest examples of a dedicated arts-centered public high school in the region. The admissions materials describe a multi-step process that includes a DeKalb School Choice application, a separate DSA application, and required recommendations. For music students, DSA stands out because applicants audition in one major area, and those options include Band, Orchestra, Piano, and Vocal Music, along with several non-music disciplines. The school’s published admissions packet also says that applicants are interviewed in the area for which they audition, and that recommendations are required from one art teacher, one counselor, and two academic teachers. For a serious young pianist, violinist, singer, or band student, that makes DSA one of the more direct arts-high-school options in the metro area.
- Address: 1192 Clarendon Avenue, Avondale Estates, GA 30002
- Listed Phone: 678-676-2502
Tri-Cities High School Visual and Performing Arts Magnet in East Point
Tri-Cities High School is another major name in this conversation. The magnet audition page lists five VPA majors: Dance, Visual Arts, Band, Choir, and Theatre. According to the school’s audition information, students first complete the Tri-Cities VPA and 3DE Magnet application, and auditions may be completed in person or by video submission depending on the student’s current school. The site also notes that audition requirements vary by discipline. For music families, the biggest takeaway is that Tri-Cities has dedicated pathways for both band and choir students rather than just a broad fine arts label.
- Address: 2575 Harris Street, East Point, GA 30344
- Listed Phone: 470-254-8200
North Springs High School Visual and Performing Arts Magnet in Sandy Springs
North Springs High School gives North Fulton families another strong option. Its VPA magnet is especially useful because the public audition page lays out actual music requirements in some detail. For band applicants, North Springs says students submit a video and play a solo of about thirty seconds to one minute, along with one-octave E-flat, B-flat, and F concert scales and matching arpeggios. Percussion applicants submit a solo and rudiments such as a long roll, single paradiddle, and flam accent. Orchestra and guitar applicants submit a prerecorded solo of their choice and explain why they want to join the magnet. Choral applicants sing either “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with optional scales if they know them. Piano applicants submit a video showing C, G, and F major scales with both hands, plus a short song or excerpt with hands together. That level of published detail makes North Springs especially helpful for students who want a clear target for preparation.
- Address: 7447 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30328
- Listed Phone: 470-254-2490
Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School
CCCEPA, housed at Pebblebrook High School, has been one of metro Atlanta’s best-known arts magnets for years. The program’s published materials describe it as a tuition-free public magnet open to eligible students in grades 9 through 12 who live in Cobb County. This is a strong option for some performers, but it helps to be specific about who it fits. CCCEPA’s application materials describe admissions areas in Dance, Drama, Technical Theatre, and Vocal Music. The same materials say admission is based on a competitive audition plus review of academic, discipline, and attendance records, and they list eligibility expectations such as no failing grades in the last year, fewer than ten absences, and no suspensions in the last year. Students also submit an essay and two teacher recommendations, including one from an arts teacher. That makes CCCEPA a real arts-high-school option, especially for singers and theatre students, but not the place to steer a dedicated young pianist or violinist who wants a school-based instrumental major.
- Address: 991 Old Alabama Road, Mableton, GA 30126
- Listed Phone: 770-819-2521
Gwinnett School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School
Gwinnett’s School of the Arts, based at Central Gwinnett High School, deserves a place in this conversation because its Conservatory is genuinely audition-based and arts-centered. The official Conservatory overview describes it as the school’s signature audition-based program and says students can spend more of the school day in expanded arts classes, internships, and related work experiences. For music families, the details matter. The official Conservatory overview lists Voice and Music Technology & Audio Production as music-related concentration areas, along with Theatre, Dance, and Art and Design. So this is a better fit for singers, students interested in recording and production, and some performing arts students than for orchestral string players or pianists looking for a dedicated classical instrumental major within the school itself.
- Address: 564 West Crogan Street, Lawrenceville, GA 30046
- Listed Phone: 770-963-8041
Walton High School in Marietta
Walton High School is not a stand-alone arts magnet, but it is exactly the kind of school families should still consider. On its fine arts page, Walton says its orchestra program currently enrolls more than 400 string players across seven orchestra classes. That is a serious program by any standard. For a violinist, violist, or cellist who wants a strong traditional high school with a substantial orchestra culture, Walton may be a better fit than an arts magnet that leans more heavily toward voice, theatre, or dance. A family looking at academic balance, peer level, and large-scale ensemble experience should not skip schools like this just because they do not use the words “performing arts” in the title.
- Address: 1590 Bill Murdock Road, Marietta, GA 30062
- Listed Phone: 770-578-3225
Johns Creek High School in Johns Creek
Johns Creek High School is another example of a strong arts-rich school rather than a formal conservatory-style arts magnet. Its school site highlights performing and fine arts offerings that include marching band, chorus, orchestra, and theatre. That matters because many serious student musicians do not need a full magnet program to thrive. They need a strong ensemble, a challenging teacher, private lessons outside school, and enough room to keep growing. Johns Creek can make sense for students who want a strong academic environment and a meaningful school music life while continuing serious private study on the outside.
- Address: 5575 State Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA 30022
- Listed Phone: 470-254-2138
Athens Academy and the Athens-Area Path
Since Athens is part of the broader area many families consider, Athens Academy is worth mentioning. Its music page says Upper School students can participate in string orchestra, band, jazz band, and pep band, and it also notes participation in outside groups such as Athens Youth Symphony and the Georgia Children’s Chorus. Athens Academy also says students may audition for GMEA All-State Band, All-State Orchestra, and All-State Chorus beginning in sixth grade, and that students can audition for additional honor groups tied to GMEA, the Georgia Independent Schools Association, Athens Youth Symphony, and the University of Georgia. That makes it another good example of a school that may not be a pure performing arts high school, but can still support a serious pre-college music path.
- Address: 1281 Spartan Lane, Athens, GA 30606
- Listed Phone: 706-549-9225
What the Audition Process Usually Looks Like
Across the schools that do use an audition-based model, a few patterns repeat. Students may need a prepared solo, scales, sight-reading or technical demonstrations, teacher recommendations, essays, interviews, and separate school-choice applications. Some programs, like North Springs, publish very concrete music requirements. Others, like DSA and Tri-Cities, outline the application structure and major areas, then provide discipline-specific requirements through the school. That means families should start early and not assume they can wait until spring to pull everything together.
Are Performing Arts High Schools Worth It?
For the right student, yes. A strong arts magnet can offer more daily time in the discipline, more peers who care deeply about the work, more performance opportunities, and a culture that treats artistic growth as serious work rather than an extracurricular add-on. But there is no single right answer. A traditional high school with a great orchestra or chorus program, paired with strong private instruction, can still produce a student who is ready for All-State, summer festivals, college auditions, or a lifelong love of music.
How Metro Music Makers Can Help Students Prepare
Metro Music Makers can support students on either path. The company offers in-home and online lessons for piano, voice, violin, brass, woodwinds, songwriting, recording, and more, and its site emphasizes personalized lesson planning, teacher matching, and flexible scheduling. That kind of individualized work can help a student polish solo repertoire, tighten scales and technique, improve sight-reading, prepare for interviews, or simply become more musically mature before audition season begins.
Final Thoughts
The best school for one student may be completely wrong for another. Some young musicians need a fully audition-based arts environment. Others do better in a traditional high school with a strong ensemble and excellent private lessons on the side. In the Metro Atlanta area, families actually have both kinds of options. The challenge is not finding a single best school. It is finding the one that matches your child’s instrument, goals, temperament, commute, and level of commitment right now.