From the Director of Music and the Arts

18 November 2016

As we draw ever closer to the festive season, the rehearsals become more frequent inside the performing arts center. This year will see our pupils performing at a much higher number of outside venues than ever before -- such is the demand for the quality that they deliver. Our Senior Vocal Group is taking the lead in performing at three hotels; Kerry Parkside on the 25th November, Renaissance Hotel on the 30th and the Ritz on the 2nd December. Each of these events surround the hotels' tree-lighting ceremonies. On the 27th November, all of our choirs will be performing at the Christmas Bazaar on the NAIS Pudong campus. On the 8th December, we look forward to our annual Christmas Carol Concert which again will feature all of the school's choirs.

I hope to see everyone in attendance!

On Friday, we had a visit from Ross Jennings, a bagpipe player who is attempting to perform in every country in the world (http://www.thefirstpiper.com/). Ross demonstrated the fine art of bagpiping to Years 7, 8 & 9; giving us an insight into the history of this unique instrument.

It was a revelation when we found out that the Scottish people actually got the bagpipes from England! He also showed us the many cultures who enjoy playing the bagpipes and explained his own amazing around-the-world excursion. As always, our pupils were fantastically well behaved and asked some excellent questions at the end.

Into the Woods rehearsals continue and we are seeing some excellent acting skills. The most pleasing aspect is how our pupils have thrown themselves into this show by working with the arts team and providing suggestions to improve. It shows great maturity that our pupils are able to reflect on their performances and offer suggestions for improvements. These skills are at the heart of the Juilliard Programme.