Teacher movies.
This is a long but interesting movie, like a biopic.
Other teacher movies : One Eight Seven (1997), much more sad and violent, only 2 years later !
Also The Browning Version (1951), and a remake in 1994 i didn't see...
This is original, dealing with music (i think there is another one, with Jessica Alba but it's about dance). To my taste, it is lacking a bit of conflictuality, it's somewhat like a fairy tale in good old America...
But i'm not sure hard work can overcome every obstacle in music. For example many folks will never learn piano, because there is a very subtle trick. Music is a deep intellectual process involving as much intelligence as drawing, so.. here it seems a little easy.
"We are the melodies and the notes of your opus", a very nice metaphor of life.