Pao School strives for its students to both master music skills and to develop a deep appreciation for music – an art form that they will continue to cultivate throughout their lifetimes. In the Primary School, students learn how to sing in a chorus and how to play in an ensemble, alongside music composition and appreciation skills. Students also develop their music skills outside of the classroom. On their lunch breaks and the weekend, depending on their interest, students also hone their music skills in choral training or the study of specific musical instruments.
Programme of Primary School Winter Concert
According to Dominic Murtagh, Head of Primary School Music Department, this is the first time that the Primary School music groups have performed since just before the outbreak last winter. All primary students were able to see their peers perform and the performers themselves were able to see the concert live in the auditorium. This made for a real whole campus celebration. "The programme was highly ambitious throughout and the performers really rose to the challenges," he said. In particular, Mr. Murtagh praised both the Beginner Chinese Ensemble and Chinese Ensemble for their great expression. He added, "The strings were formidable both in numbers and in the qualities of sound and maturity."
Spring Festival Overture
Chinese Ensemble
Fragrant Rice
Primary Choir
Game of Thrones
Cellos (Y2~Y5)
The Middle School's music curriculum is divided into three areas: string, choral and band music. Therefore, the "Sound of Winter" concert was also composed of three special sessions, with nearly 350 students participating in the performance. Chen Yunzhi, Head of Performing Arts Department at the Middle School, said that students worked with dedication and passion over the past three months to prepare for the show. It was natural for the students to be a bit nervous about the performance, their first in a year, but they had no problem overcoming that minor stage fright to shine once they got up onstage.
Programmes of Middle School Concerts
The string concert concluded with the string ensemble performance "Viva La Vida" which included 65 musicians playing different parts of the piece. Given the large number of musicians needed to perform the piece, this was a tall order indeed – especially as the students had only had one rehearsal to prepare. Most of the other practice they did was on their own in music class. When it was time for the performance, the students did not disappoint. Indeed, it was impressive how well the students performed together, each playing their own part smoothly to create a grand finale that won rave reviews.
Viva La Vida
Combined String Orchestra
Dream it Possible
Y7 Choir
Y6 Band
The marvellous posters the students create for the Winter Concert are nearly as famous as the concert itself. Inspired by Music Assistant Corie, the Year 1 students created a poster depicting a golden hot pot. The hot pot emits waves of heat, ultimately transforming into a fluttering musical note. These mouth-watering artworks were rendered with paper, paint, cotton, wool and more in a spectacular collage. Earl Tai, an art teacher at the Primary School, commented, “When we think of winter, we always think of cold weather and snow. But it's also the ideal time to eat hot pot."
Artwork Team: Y1E Regina, Annabelle and students from Y1A
Directed by Earl Tai
Making the poster
In the Middle School, teachers invited students to submit their posters in a competition. After the students finished the posters and submitted them, the teachers selected the winners.
Thinking about the "Sounds of Winter" theme, the first thing that came to mind was an image of slowly falling snow in the silent evening. I thought of rendering that image with a greyish-blue hue. When I was done with the poster, I found I still was not satisfied with it. It was too monotonous. So, I changed the shape of the lines on the borders and adjusted the colour of the blue gold background. At that point, I was happy: The finished product was beautiful.
——Y8 Martina
When I designed the poster, I used blue as the core colour, complemented by orange. Blue symbolizes winter, which is in line with the "winter" theme, while orange gives people a warm feeling and is not cold. Finally, I added some notes to represent the theme of "tone" and included a piano to separate the choral, wind and string sections.
——Y8 Sophia
There are some big dots under the slanted notes, just like snowflakes and the blue background does not fill up the whole poster. Instead, some spaces in the middle are left open to interpretation, like the wonderful music itself. Further, the poster’s information section includes different shades of blue interlaced together, making it more unique. Just like in our orchestra, each instrument plays a very important role in music, combining to create something beautiful...
——Y7 Jamie
