We were treated to a stunning performance from two Juilliard alumni, Stephanie Song on violin accompanied by Peng-Peng Gong. Both originally from China, Stephanie is now a Professor of Music at The Suzhou University School of Music and Peng-Peng is the Composer in Residence at the Shanghai Philharmonic. Stephanie also spoke about her journey with The Juilliard School which she was accepted to when she was only ten years old, and what the school and its community has meant to her over the years and still today, which was inspiring to hear.
Earlier in the evening the new Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Programme was introduced by Ms Tricia Ross, Managing Director of Site-Based Programme Development, Juilliard Global Ventures. This is The Juilliard School’s first collaboration with a school outside of the USA and Ms Ross talked about the great excitement within The Juilliard School about the new partnership with Nord Anglia Education, and how the new performing arts programme will build on the great talent within our school.
Our students also shone on Tuesday, putting on some fantastic performances to start the evening off. We had dance, drama and music with scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and music from both primary and secondary students.
Our collaboration with The Juilliard School will allow our teachers to work with the leading specialists in their field, who have 110 years of experience teaching the performing arts to the highest standard in the world. The resources, knowledge and connections shared will allow us to enhance the work of our own teachers and the curriculum we teach. Maria Kane, Head of Performing Arts is excited about the collaboration, commenting, “This will clearly benefit every single pupil directly, within the core subject lessons as well as for those who choose to be actively involved in the extra-curricular programme. This means that this collaboration is for every single one of our pupils – not just those pupils who already play instruments or take part in drama productions.”