Music education is not only an integral part of YK Pao School’s mission of whole-person education
but also a tool with which to carve new understanding of Chinese and Western culture.
Through the rich cultural history of music, the Music Department at Songjiang uses
Chinese and Western musical styles to develop student’s understanding of the world.
In their classes, students learn how to play piano arrangements that integrate many
genres and techniques, alongside learning how to compose works of their own.
Pao School’s talented young musicians have become well known for their outstanding
live performances. Their skill has been noted both within China and overseas, with
students winning numerous awards and receiving recognition by music academies.
Impressively, others have even seen their songs receive acclaim on popular musical platforms.
Among composition lessons at Pao School, the most unique is taught by Ms. Song at the High School. Ms. Song leads the students as they use the texts of traditional Chinese poetry to compose original musical pieces. When talking about curriculum design, Ms. Song explains, "Music teaching needs to cultivate students' music appreciation ability and their music composing and performing skills. To do this, the course starts simply and then gets progressively more complex. It covers music notation, and theory, principles of melody writing and word setting, texture, harmony, form and orchestration using both Chinese and Western compositional devices. Students in the class learn both typical Chinese and Western songs, whilst learning to play instruments from both China and the West. This boosts their ability to appreciate and understand the aesthetic aspects of different cultures".
The course also focuses on teaching students how music can be used to express traditional Chinese poetry in a unique way. In the class, students use a wide variety of techniques to compose and perform both solo and ensemble works. Students learn to integrate Chinese and Western composition techniques, and in the process, expand how they use traditional musical instruments to express themselves. As they gain mastery in composition techniques, they are able to produce outstanding original musical works with a distinct Chinese flavour – producing works that both honour Chinese tradition and reflect the student’s individual style.
Year 10 student Jerry created a marvelous original work, “The Sight of Spring”. Within the piece, he made use of the bamboo flute (an ancient Chinese wind instrument), Pipa, Chinese drums, bells and synthesizers, to capture the mood expressed in the poem “Spring at the South of the Yangtze River.”
春景 The Sight of Spring - Jerry
Year 10 student Cyrus composed “A Spring Walk Around Qiantang Lake” as a trio for soprano, flute and piano, fusing Chinese and Western instruments and musical style. He perfectly captured the flavour of an ancient poem through his description of relaxing feeling of being amongst lakes and mountains.
钱塘湖春行 A Spring Walk Around Qiantang Lake - Cyrus
Year 12 Matt and Tony create original Chinese-style works in their spare time. They have won many awards such as the Golden Album Award (over 5 million plays) and the Golden Song Award (over 1 million plays) on well-known music platforms.
烟雨 Yan Yu - Matt
Year 10 student Angela deeply enjoys the composition class, saying, “We write music based on our understanding of classical Chinese poetry, using both Chinese and Western elements. These works have a style all their own and bring the music to life.”
Year 10 student Cynthia says that this class is different from others in which she has worked on poetry and music composition. “I have always been interested in both music history and classical Chinese poetry. However, my understanding of pentatonic scales was very limited before I took this class. This class has opened up a new world of traditional Chinese folk music for me.”
YK Pao High School’s Music Department organizes online music activities as well. For instance, recently, the school held an online music activity – called “Chuan Xi”. The activity focused on both composition and performance, aiming to express the theme of "innovating in inheritance and making progress in acquisition.” This event not only incorporated Pao School’s "Shanghai+" curriculum but also met IGCSE and IB courses standards for music appreciation, performance and creation. It reflects the school’s own five-in-one comprehensive music education model of "Teaching-Research-Listening-Performance-Creation", alongside providing a broad development space for students' music learning. This online music activity illustrates the students' considerable performance and creative talents.
The students’ musical talents also venture beyond the classroom. These piano performances have a distinctive Chinese folk music style that has helped the students win wide acclaim in various music competitions.
Year 11 Cuky and Yolanda are the proud winners of the gold medal for two-piano category at the 6th International Youth Pianist Competition. They were deeply moved by their experience in the competition: “Since joining Pao School, we have performed at 'On Wings of Song' Young Pianists' Concert for four years in a row and slowly but surely honed our musical ability. Although we have been busy with schoolwork, we still found time to practice piano every day. As we prepared for the competition, we felt tired but happy, because we were doing what we love.”
Cuky and Yolanda performing "Libertango" at the 6th International Youth Pianist Competition (Final Round, Japan)
Hannah, a winner of many piano awards both in China and overseas, says, “I felt very happy that in the competition I could share the musical works I have learned. Prepping for the competition was an opportunity to challenge myself and sharpen my thinking.”
Hannah playing Wang Jianzhong’s "Liuyang River" in the Music Concert Hall
Group photo of some of the winners of the domestic and international piano competitions
In this online concert, Year 11 student Miller recorded the name of each song with Chinese calligraphy. Miller commented: "During this cooperative exercise with the Music Department, I felt the connection between musical rhythm and the vigorous brush strokes of calligraphy, and a great respect for traditional Chinese culture and its rich expressiveness."
Group photo of students and Ms. Song (second from the right) taken after performances
Ms. Song has been teaching music at Pao School for more than eight years. She is grateful for the many learning and development opportunities that the school provides to teachers, and has benefited greatly from such opportunities.
When I participated in the "Pao School Global Education Forum" and the "Pao School Excellent Youth Teacher Training Class", I was fortunate to be able to draw on the knowledge of the mentors and her other teaching colleagues, who have vast teaching expertise and experience. Their guidance has inspired me to continue to apply professional subject knowledge and pedagogies both inside and outside the classroom, improve my understanding of student needs, and plan high-quality classes.
——Ms. Song
A selection of the awards won by students in piano competitions both in China and overseas:
Thanks to Ms. Song for writing and supporting this article
