Nord Anglia Performing Arts Festival China, 2019 Orchestral

It all culminated in nearly two hours of spell-binding performance as the children responded to the conductor’s direction and created remarkable musical experiences for the captivated audience. 

The impact of the Juilliard curriculum, offered exclusively within Nord Anglia schools, was immediate and palpable: the students’ performances were not only accomplished, they were also intelligent and nuanced. Skilfully, Oliver Hagen led each section of the orchestras to make their unique their contribution to the piece, weaving wind sections, brass, strings and percussion together in a wonderful symphony that, as many audience members remarked afterwards, was genuinely moving.

The measure of any classical performance is perhaps this ability to express deep emotions and to transcend the ordinary, such that the listener is transported to a higher plane. However, what the Nord Anglia Performing Arts Festival managed was even more remarkable still. Since, if the listener closed their eyes, these remarkable Nord Anglia students also convinced us that this was a performance from a professional orchestra. That is not only ambitious, it is magical.