With the success of the TV musical show "Glee" and recently released "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie," high-school music classes are all the rage, including one particular group piano course at East High School.

The school recently expanded its piano lab program from three classes to eight, and from 10 keyboards to 12.

"There has always been a waiting list to getting into the piano labs," said group piano teacher Charlotte Fife-Jepperson. "This year the piano labs will be able to accommodate more students."

The school's piano labs are open to students who are not enrolled in private lessons but want to continue piano training throughout high school. Whittier Elementary and Glendale Middle schools' piano courses are feeder programs for the high-school piano labs, Fife-Jepperson said.

While wearing headphones, students learn the music at their own pace. The group piano instructor can use headphones to plug into any of the students' keyboards to listen and make critiques.

The East High School program, now in its fourth year, will be meeting in a full-sized classroom for the first time this fall. "Until now, the piano labs have been meeting in the a cappella choir closet," said Fife-Jepperson.

The 40-year-old mother of three also teaches private piano lessons and has been swim coach. She has a degree in piano performance from the University of Utah and says she just sort of fell into the position at East High working for her friend, and fellow U. of U. graduate, Hana Janatova.

"I'm just kind of a natural teacher, I like sharing my passion," Fife-Jepperson said.

Janatova started the piano labs program as a way to allow students to continue musical pursuits. The labs give students a way to exercise their creativity, Janatova said. "It's a positive escape."

The 41-year-old pianist said she has always known she would be a teacher because teaching runs in her family. "The majority of my family are scientists," she said. "I'm the only one that went the musical route."

Janatova admits she has never watched an episode of "Glee," but acknowledges the effect popular music has had on her students. "Any time Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga or Coldplay sit down at a piano and play, they are an inspiration," she said.

The piano lab course fulfills elective credits for more than 100 students each year. Most live under the poverty level and are at risk of truancy, Janatova said.

"Students have wanted to play music from 'Glee,' " said Fife-Jepperson. "They'll come in and say 'I want to learn this song from Cyndi Lauper.' It's music from the '80s. Music that they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to."

But post-disco and current popular dance music aren't the only musical influences. "They learn music theory, they are learning how to read music and they are also exposed to classical and jazz piano," Fife-Jepperson said.

Funding to expand the piano lab program at East High comes from a donation by Liz and Bart Warner of Warner Truck Center in West Valley City, through the Youth Enrichment Foundation. The donation pays salaries and provides the equipment for the piano labs.

The piano labs are a great place to learn and practice, Janatova said. But once a semester, the students can showcase their work at a Monster Concert or a multidisciplinary recital through The Mundi Project.

Janatova launched The Mundi Project as part of her piano performance master's degree project. In addition to hosting performances, The Mundi Project provides pianos for students who are unable to afford them.

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Mundi Project event

P "Thirsting for the Arts: Preventing the Well from Running Dry" is a panel discussion on arts and arts education.

When • Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Where • Westminster College's Gore Auditorium, 1250 E. 1700 South, Salt Lake City

More on The Mundi Project • mundiproject.org