Spirit of Peace I Musical virtuosos gather at Pao School

From February 20 to 23, theInternational Schools Choral Music Society (ISCMS)held its12th festivalon the Songjiang Campus of YK Pao School. About400teachers and students from25schools attended the musical extravaganza.Sixty-four YK Pao School studentsfrom Hongqiao and Songjiang campuses participated in the festival.Fish Zhu from Year 12andCharlie Zhu from Year 9performed in the Orchestra as thefirst violinistandsecond violinist.Our theme this year is'Spirit of Peace'in recognition of the strongly-held pacifist beliefs of our main composers,Benjamin BrittenandMichael Tippett, and how they embodied their convictions through their music. The piece that Orchestra played is theYoung Person's Guide to Orchestrafrom Benjamin Brintten which has solos for each instrument ps and is the hardest piece ever played at the festival.

12

Dawn Morris

Head of High School Music

"This is the first time that YK Pao School hosts such a large event. A lot of the participants are from China, but there are also students from Mongolia, Australia, Korea and Dubai. During the event, students receive instructions from the practitioners. It's heartening to see that we are making a valuable contribution to promote the spirit of peace by uniting so many young people from different cultures and backgrounds to perform their music together."

♫.♪~♬..♩ISCMS XII Festival

During the festival, students were engaged in various activities and three concerts.The musical masters, drawing on their rich performance and teaching experience, served as guides for the students. During the brief two-day rehearsal, they helped students to better grasp how to read and perform music in an ensemble. While many of the musicians had never played together prior to these rehearsals, thanks to the guidance of the masters, their musical chemistry rapidly progressed. On the night before the Gala Concert, Jazz Band showcasted a professional-level concert.

Rehearsals

The students also enjoyed a lecture by an ISCMS committee member, violinist and Head of Maths at Dulwich High School Suzhou,Martin Crozier, who shared wonderful insights about the connection between mathsand music.

♪ Orchestra

"There is a need for students to perform major literature in an ensemble with a conductor. I love the attitude of the students. They absorb very quickly. This is the first time that we are using the African American Spirituals."

—— Dr. Robert HastyArtistic Director for Orchestra

Photos taken atYKPS Learning CommonsShanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall

♪ Choir

“The students worked incredibaly hard. They come with different abilities. So I have to spend some time to teach vocal techniques. But by the time of concert, they'll get some techniques that'll enable them to deliver an artistic product that they'll be very proud of.”

—— David Squire

Chorus Master & Conductor

Photos taken at YKPS AuditoriumShanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall

♪ Jazz Band

"Jazz band is a pretty recent thing in China and you see this less in high schools. It's great to expose thses kids to a full Jazz Band."

—— Nathaniel GaoJazz Band Director

Photos taken atThe BrainShanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall

♫.♪~♬..♩Interviews

Fish Zhu

Year 12 studentFirst violinist and Jazz Band vocal,ISCMS XII Gala Concert

First violinist, Fish Zhu, started her learning journey with Pao School from Year 1. She speaks fondly about her 12 years at Pao School, where she has been able to devote herself to both academics and interests outside the classroom. Thanks to Pao School's focus on cultivating students' personal interests and global perspective, Fish has been able to develop her violin skills as a hobby and meanwhile achieve academic excellence.

"This event gave me the opportunity to practice and perform on the same stage with many accomplished violinists and even professional musicians. This is not something that can be done in the classroom. Also, this time we played a very challenging piece which had solos for each instrument ps. I think it was a great test of my musical performing skills and I have moved up to the second row of the violinists from the very back of last time."

—— Fish Zhu

Q：

Why do you participate in this event?

Second violinist of the Orchestra:

“Learning how to play musical instruments is a must. At this concert, I had the chance to be on a stage with some of Asia's best violinists. It was a great experience."

——Year 9 studentCharlie Zhu

Choir singer:

"Though I can play clarinet, I chose to join the choir because I want to gain new experiences. Singing in an ensemble is quite different then playing in Orchestra. After 2 days, I feel my ear has become more sensitive and can focuse better on my own voices. The music history and background knowledge learnt in class is also very helpful for me to understand the spirituals we are singing."

—— Year 11 studentYolanda Huang

Trumpet player of Jazz Band:

"I think this is an interesting event. Not only can you improve your music performing skills, but also you can make friends with people from different places."

—— Year 10 studentBill Wu

Q：

What do you think is special about this music festival?

Principal of YK Pao High School:

“There is something about music that is so unique. Most of the time when you visit a school is to compete. But in music, you are here not to compete but to collaborate together.”

—— Mark Bishop

Q：

What dId you learn in the festival?

Bass trombone player of Jazz Band:

“I learnt a lot about using the triggers on the bass trombone. I also learnt about Chinese culture.”

—— ArjenGippsland Grammar

♫.♪~♬..♩ISCMS XII Gala Concert

The climax of this event certainly came on the evening of 23rd when the sold-out Gala Concert was performed in Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall. More than 1000 people in the audience were concentrated and enjoyed.

Present at the Gala Concert were leaderships from participating schools, founder and school leadership of YK Pao School and parents of student performers.

Executive Headmaster of Pao School, David Mansfield, delivered a welcome speech to all the people at the concert and expressed sincere thanks to the staff. Dawn Morris, Head of High School Music and the Director of ISCMS festival presented the trophies to all participating school with the orchestra conductor.

Mark Amstrong, Co-Chair of ISCMS, commented that the theme of this year's festival is so pertinent. Having chosen the Five Spirituals from Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Times, it was obvious that we were going to be looking at a theme of Peace. Mark also expressed, "Add to all this is the sheer joy of coming together and making music. Student musicians and adult musicians with a common goal, working through the process, and learning together. This is ISCMS."

♫ Participating Schools

Beijing City International SchoolBusan International Foreign SchoolDulwich College BeijingDulwich College Seoul

Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi

Dulwich College Suzhou

Dulwich International High School Suzhou

Dulwich International High School Zhuhai

Gippsland Grammar

Guangzhou Yew Wah International School

Independent School’s Foundation

International School of Beijing

International School of Ulaanbaatar

Ivy Collegiate Academy

Keystone Academy Beijing

Merchiston School Shenzhen

North London Collegiate School Dubai

Peking University Experimental School Jiaxing

Repton School Dubai

Suzhou Singapore International School

Victoria Shanghai Academy

Western Academy Beijing

Xiamen International School

YK Pao School

If you would like to learn more about YK Pao School, please join us in our campus open house events!

Primary School Campus

Date:Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

Location:No.20, Lane 1251, West Wuding Road, Changning District

Registration:Registration is closed. Please follow us for future events.

Middle School Campus

Date:Sunday, March 17th, 2019

Location:No.2206, Hongqiao Road, Changning District

Registration:Please scan the QR code below to submit the registration form.

High School Campus

Date:Wednesday, March 6th, 2019

Location:No.1800, Lane 900 North Sanxin Road, Songjiang District

Registration:Registration is closed. Please follow us for future events.