Your son sounds like a very bright and talented young man and reminds me of mine at 16. It can be a challenging time as many musically talented kids do not fit into the regimen of academics and many 16 year olds do not see the point of classes they are not interested in. Mine too dragged himself through 2 years of foreign language and was frustrated with all science classes because he was missing time in the practice room to be there. And I can’t even imagine how tough it would have been with remote learning!
Our philosophy was to keep as many doors open as possible with his program through high school. He knew that academic scholarship and music merit were both very much needed as options. He took high level but generally not AP classes, keeping his schedule where he could still practice 4 hours a day.
The path will become more clear over the next year or so. And your son will have many options. Mine has ended up in a conservatory with a large talent scholarship so really did not require academic merit, but he is happy that he kept a strong academic load and a high GPA. Because you never know if the path might change and you need another door to open.
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