YK Pao School has always been committed to whole-person education, providing students with ample opportunities to pursue their interests in areas such as the performing arts. This is reflected in the High School’s offering of IB Music, a course that focuses on the composition, performance and critical analysis of music while introducing students to a rich array of music from different historical and socio-cultural contexts.
As students broaden their knowledge of musical genres and musical features, they also develop their musical understanding and analytical skills. The course also gives students the ability to build soft skills, such as self-discipline, collaborative working, creativity and analytical skills, that will benefit them regardless of where their career takes them.
The four students in IB Music this year “achieved a huge level of personal growth as performers and creators,” says Steffen Incze, Head of IB Music. “They wrestled with a number of difficult performance pieces, showing great dedication, self-discipline, and self-awareness.” At the same time, the experience of learning and sharing music has also allowed these students to engage in projects to give back to the communities on and off campus.
Emma
University of Hong Kong, Economics
Debussy's Music Excerpts
"The school provided Emma with platform for self-learning and the freedom
to explore herself, giving her plenty of time to develop her interests,
pursue her passions and never stop working hard."
—— Emma’s mum
Emma came to YK Pao School in Year 1, but she started learning piano even before that – at the age of 5. With a curriculum that offers plenty of opportunities for students to study and develop skills in the performing arts, Pao School proved to be a perfect place for Emma to cultivate her budding musical talent.
During IB Music, she explains that she greatly improved her ability to identify different musical elements – such as the era and culture from which a piece originates. At times, this was complex and required analytical thinking, as pieces may be a mix of different cultures or be a bridge between eras. Now, however, Emma remarks that she enjoys music history much more than history itself.
While Emma speaks modestly about her musical skills, Mr. Incze lauded her abilities, saying, “Emma’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” was incredibly mature, nuanced, and haunting. Coming from a pianist her age, I was more or less stunned.”
Emma featured her interest in rearranging scores at a performance in Year 11, which also happens to be one of her favourite memories of performing at the school. At the concert, she played a piece she rearranged from the soundtrack of a TV show called Person of Interest, saying it was a "very surreal and exciting experience" to play her work on stage.
Emma has many other good memories of her 12 years at Pao School, but several aspects of her experience stand out. Compared to the average school, Pao School is much more diverse, Emma is glad that she had the chance to meet both teachers and classmates from such a wide variety of national and cultural backgrounds.
Among these friends are both students and teachers, she says, “At YK Pao School, teachers are very engaged with students. You can treat a teacher not just as your instructor, but also a friend.” As well as being open and warm, Emma remarks that Pao School teachers encourage students to explore their interests and develop their self-study skills.
Her passion for music will always remain, she wishes to continue pursuing it as a hobby and a way to stay relaxed, so that the pressure of work doesn’t hurt her love of playing. She is therefore choosing to pursue another of her passions at the University of Hong Kong – economics. One of the reasons she has chosen the subject was due to her Pao School IB Economics teacher, Mr. Warren, who she says gave her the support and confidence she needed pursue the topic.
Emma says she is fascinated with not only the business opportunities she can pursue through economics, but also the subject as a concept, “It is interesting because it is something created by human beings. It’s a human science; it’s about resources and their allocation and is fundamental to human civilization.”
Kevin
University of Rochester, Music
Kevin Zhu Playing Hang Drum
Kevin Zhu Composition: Jazzy Percussives
Kevin began playing music at an early age, but it wasn’t until he came to Pao School in Year 6 that he viewed music as a possible career. When he first joined the school, he felt he was “just an ‘ordinary’ student” and had no specialities. However, this all changed when he was encouraged to join the rock band by Mr. Hambrook – who also acted as his tutor and house master. The opportunity gave Kevin the chance to express himself and perform a solo for the school, which he says also made him feel like he was a true part of the school community.
It was also through encouragement from his teachers that ‘assured him of his talents’ and the numerous opportunities to perform that his passion for music was ignited. He explains, “YK Pao School is a school that gives a lot of opportunities to express myself and my music. I have done many performances all across the campus, the students and teachers fully support my performing at school, which has really increased my confidence and my determination for what I want to do in the future.”
In recent years, Kevin began to branch out into new forms of percussion, including world instruments such as the handpan, and traditional Chinese instruments such as the Zhoushan drums. Initially, he chose to play Chinese traditional drums as he was signed up by music teacher Lief Liu due to his knowledge as a percussionist. After time he also became leader of the group, in addition to developing his performing and musical skills, it helped him develop a number of life skills such as organising and coordination.
One of his standout memories performing at the school was at this year’s Spring Concert, where Kevin performed a duet on the Zhoushan drums with classmate Tiger. During a particularly exuberant part of the song, Kevin’s drumstick broken in half. Despite losing half of his drumstick and feeling extremely shaky, Kevin calmly continued playing and was able to finish the song.
Through his studies of IB music, Kevin improved his ability to write academically about music, his performing skills, composing, and his understanding of theory. In addition, due to Mr Inzce’s influence and pushing, Kevin strengthened his self-management skills and project management – something he says he struggled with in the past.
As it doesn’t limit what instruments students can play, studying IB Music allowed Kevin to explore his interest in handpan – for which he is now in the process of writing an album of his own pieces. As the handpan was invented in 2001, it doesn’t yet have a common music system and is difficult to academically assess. Now, Kevin explains, he can use his own system to create compositions: “I can play from memory – I remember the overall structure, the fundamental rules and melodies – and the other parts I improvised.”
In the coming autumn, Kevin plans to join the University of Rochester in the US to study music. Alongside music, Kevin is considering studying education at university. During his time at Pao School, Kevin went on a number of student trips to Anhui to volunteer at a deprived school to teach students subjects like art, music and sport. This experience has interested Kevin in sharing his music in the future with those who are less fortunate and to give back to the community.
Jenny
Boston University, Music and Psychology
Jenny Zhang Composition: Arabic Improvisation No 8
Jenny began singing as a young child. She had tried many things, including the piano, but her love of singing stood the test of time – so much so that music became the “only thing she could imagine doing at university.”
After joining Pao School in Year 8 to pursue an education that would prepare her to go abroad, Jenny dove into taking as many performance opportunities as possible, explaining, “Before I came to Pao School, I didn’t really have any confidence, but there are lots of performance opportunities at the school. I had to sing solo, stand there on the stage and face the audience.”
In particular, she remembers a recital in the Black Box Theatre where, due to the intimacy of the space, she could make lots of eye contact with the audience and feel a connection as she sang. This was one of many experiences that developed her faith in her singing abilities.
As a vocalist, studying IB Music presented an interesting challenge. In the past, she had learned to sing through reading numbers rather than sheet music. As a large part of the IB Music curriculum is composition, she had to develop her knowledge of music theory and patterns, explaining, “Before I learned the theory, I didn’t really care about how the song sounded. But after I learned these theories, I became more interested in how the notes are put together and how patterns can combine together to create different music.”
During this process, Jenny's classmate Lisa, a pianist, helped her understand musical notation and theory – allowing Jenny to develop the skills needed for the composition of her pieces. Often, as she composed on the piano and musical software, she would ask her teacher Mr. Incze to review her work and provide feedback. Now, Jenny can use her newfound knowledge to go beyond simple music appreciation, as she can analyse pieces alongside writing her own. On her work, Mr. Incze explains how Jenny’s composition was “particularly interesting as she merged musical elements from completely unrelated musical cultures.”
Alongside her love of music, Jenny quickly found dance becoming an “indispensable part of her life” at Pao School. At first, it was a challenge when she joined Songjiang’s Jazz Dance CCA in Year 8 as her movements were too soft, and she struggled to be on par with her classmates. However, after help from a dance team friend, she improved significantly and even joined the school’s dance team.
After years of hard work, Jenny eventually became the leader of the dance team in Year 12. With the new role came new responsibilities, culminating in a dance performance to over 100 of the school’s staff and pupils. Organising the event spanned beyond Jenny’s dance experience, as she had to complete tasks such as preparing advertisements, creating t-shirts, negotiating with outside vendors and arranging stage lighting.
In September, Jenny will be joining Boston University and intends to combine her interest in music with studies in another of her interests – psychology. Through her passion and love for music, she hopes to help others and provide comfort to those in distress.
“YK Pao School really provided me with lots of opportunities to improve
not only my music skills, but also to develop myself and be a better me.”
—— Jenny
Lisa
Duke University, Public Policy
Lisa Liang: Promise
Lisa joined Pao School in Year 8, following her sister who was attending the Primary School at the time. Since joining she has changed and grown immensely, saying that before she was a more “rigid thinker” and has learned to think more for herself. “Now I have unlimited ideas about my future, and when I make decisions, I listen more to my ideas than to others.”
She has been playing the piano since primary school, and has since added guqin, guitar and vocals to her repertoire. Before choosing IB Music, Lisa knew she didn’t want to pursue music professionally – though is intending to do it as a minor at university – as she wants to keep it as a hobby. Despite this, she chose to study IB Music as was interested in the opportunity to learn more about music history, develop her analytical skills and find opportunities to perform. As one of her favourite subjects, she enjoyed the small class size and the collaborative atmosphere it created for performances and projects.
Throughout her studies, she has faced a number of challenges, for example in World Music there are many composers and eras of music to learn about. However, Lisa relished the opportunity to develop her knowledge and says that Mr. Inzce helped her build her self-confidence and gave her detailed guidance on writing about music academically.
Alongside music, Lisa has explored many new interests at the school through CCAs - including baking, spinning and the guqin - and other activities. One of the most impactful has been hiking, with which she has travelled to Hong Kong and throughout Shanghai. These activities have helped her develop her character, she says, “I can now adapt to extreme circumstances and don’t give up in the face of adversity.”
One of the things Lisa will miss most about the school is the atmosphere, where students can feel both positive pressure and support from their classmates. She says, "At Pao School, we all learn together and help each other. The environment encourages us to stay in friendly competition with one another, making progress side by side.”
Lisa will shortly be joining Duke University, in the US, with a future interest in studying Public Policy. She chose the university as she will be able to explore many different subjects before she declares her final major at the end of her second year – continuing the diversity of choice and exploration in different topics she experienced at Pao School.
After graduation, she hopes to use her knowledge of public policy and join an NGO as a volunteer. Her interest in volunteering follows on from various experiences at Pao School. As someone passionate about charity, she has been involved in a number of education-related projects in China's remote mountainous areas over the years. In the summer of 2019, she went to one of the poorest regions in South Africa to introduce the villagers to Chinese culture – which she says has been one of the most impactful experiences of her life.
Lisa has since maintained her desire to improving the living conditions and education in the villages. “Before starting my volunteer work, I never thought having the opportunity to discover one’s talents and abilities to be this crucial to a better life. After coming back from Africa, I wanted to continue my effort of making changes – public policy will help me start from doing what I can.”
“The level of musicianship this year was extraordinary, but I was most impressed with
the students’ level of ambition. In selecting performance repertoire, students
deliberately selected pieces which were beyond their ability at the time they chose
them. In envisioning compositions, they deliberately chose unfamiliar genres
and/or instruments. It speaks to a love of learning which transcends school or family
expectations – they went beyond what the curriculum demanded to truly push themselves.”
—— Steffen Incze, High School Head of Music
