Primary School
Pao Primary School’s Winter Concert involved performances by approximately 130 students, in more than 10 different music groups. This year’s winter concert primarily focused on western ensembles, including violins, cellos, wind instruments, and choirs, as well as a newly formed ‘Fusion Ensemble.’ The Winter Concert will be followed by the New Year’s Concert, which takes place during Chinese Culture Week, and features traditional Chinese music.
Eftychia Gavrill, Head of Music at the Primary School, explained: “Our aim has been to provide equal opportunities in distinct learning environments, in order to enable all students to participate, regardless of their level of prior musical knowledge.” In order to achieve this, she adapted and arranged the selected music according to student needs while preserving the essence of the original compositions. Students were encouraged to discuss the songs, composers, and their own ideas during the process, to make the process more engaging. Beside meeting together once a week, the students also invested significant independent efforts in preparing for their performances, which reflected their deep passion for music.
XiaoXiao, a Year 5 student, began learning the piano in Year 1, after being inspired by her sister. At school, she practices piano during recess on Tuesdays, and has rehearsed with the choir during Tuesday’s CCA after joining it in Year 3.
During the concert, XiaoXiao performed with the rest of the Chamber Music group, providing piano accompaniment for the song ‘Speak Softly, Love,’ taken from the movie The Godfather. She later joined the choir to sing the Swahili song Changamano (‘Join Together’) and the Yunnan folk song ‘Guess the Tune’ (猜调). XiaoXiao can practise the piano alone, but needs to be attentive to other members of the ensembles when practicing with the chamber music group or choir. Collaboration and communication are essential to ensuring musical harmony.
Originally focusing primarily on personal performances, Xiaoxiaohas has come to increasingly enjoy collaborative music-making. When she looks back at the time and effort her teams have put into preparing for their performances, she feels both personal and collective pride. “For anyone who hasn’t taken part in any musical groups, I would recommend joining a choir, because everyone has a voice, and everyone’s voice is beautiful,” she said.
Middle School
Pao Middle School’s Winter Concert exposed students to a variety of different cultures, by including a wide range of music genres, from traditional Chinese folk music, to Western classical pieces, jazz, film scores, and pop. The Chinese folk songs required students to play instruments ranging from the guzheng to the pipa, erhu, zhongruan, flute, and Chinese drums. Westerb instruments included the violin, viola, cello, flute, bagpipes, trumpet, horn, and various percussion instruments.
According to Yunzhi Chen, the Head of Music at Pao Middle School, large-scale orchestra performances took center stage in this year’s concert, while small-scale chamber music pieces were brilliantly performed offstage. Full use was made of the auditorium's performance space to delivering a rich musical extravaganza to the audience.
Matthew Duan, a Year 8 student, already demonstrates remarkable talent at many instruments, despite his young age. He plays electric bass in the orchestra, as well as acoustic guitar and cello. “My happiest moments are when I am first introduced to a new piece of music and try to decipher its particular mode and feel, ” he says. Performing these pieces on stage provides him with a special sense of accomplishment.
Beyond refining his skills at home, Matthew practices during lunch hours, in music classes, and with the orchestra, which broadens his musical horizons while honing his skills. He particularly enjoys orchestra practice, working together with his peers as they encourage each other's progress.
High School
On December 19th, the High School hosted the Winter Concert in the Auditorium, which featured performances by the Jazz Band and Varsity Orchestra ensembles. The Jazz Band performance, themed ‘Fusion,’ included hip-hop, funk, rock, and swing styles of music. The Varsity Orchestra performance ran through a number of concertos which highlighted featured performers to orchestral accompaniment.
The High School hosts various musical performances throughout the year, which offer students many opportunities for participation, while keeping music alive on campus. The variety of performances across the two semesters crosses many genres, creating numerous performance options for students with very different musical preferences, skills, and tastes. According to Music Department Head Mr. Nicholas Howard, selecting the right musical pieces for performance is crucial both to successful concerts and effective music teaching. Teachers and students collaborate to choose music that meets student interest while also providing the right level of challenge and learningenhancement.
The music CCAs (Co-Curricular Activities) are considered co-curricular courses rather than extra-curricular activities. This means they are an integral part of the curriculum. Students learn music history, music theory, and musical content during these CCAs, which are structured over a two-year course period, with students working on a different piece each semester. For example, for this Winter Concert, the Orchestra focused on concertos, while the Jazz Band explored fusion.
Quinn Ye, a Year 12 student, first discovered her love for music as a little girl. She began playing the piano at age five and, in Year 4, started playing the flute out of a curiosity about wind instruments. Her passion for the flute has lasted. She is now an IB Music student and a member of the Varsity Orchestra, which meets four times a week. Her daily schedule includes music classes every day except one in the five-cycle rotation. She practises the flute for two hours each day—one hour on her own and one hour with the orchestra. She takes special joy in composing songs and, even more, in performing. During the Winter Concert, she played ‘Xiamen,’ a concerto piece that included challenging flute solos.
As her journey at Pao School comes to an end, she plans to advance to the study of philosophy, but is confident that she will continue to play the flute as a hobby.
