I have been participating this week in a marvellous four days of music making and learning. The International Schools Choral Music Society gathered together the resources of about 400 students, music teachers and professional musicians from all over the world. We were hosted by Dulwich College, Beijing and co-ordinated and led by Festival Director and Head of Music at Dulwich, the indomitable Shane O’Shea. Three special guests shared their passion for music and expertise with the students and teachers leading workshops, lectures, masterclasses, conducting, coaching, cajoling us all to produce our best.
Pianist, Dr David Curtin (Lock Haven University, Pennsylvania, USA) played a wonderful recital celebrating the works of Chopin. His sparkling technique and musicianship inspired the IB music students who attended his piano masterclasses and his cheerful personality and sense of humour added a valuable dimension to the week. My two IB students from BISS, Maggie Liu and Harry Zhang played and participated in masterclass with Dr Curtin.
Composer, musicologist and music scholar, Dr Martin Adams (Senior Lecturer and Head of Music at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) inspired students and staff with his passion and enthusiasm for music during his lectures focussing on the International Baccalaureate set works. Students and teachers gained a little of his insights and depth of thinking by having the opportunity to chat informally and attend his great lectures.
Dr Robert Hasty, Associate Director of Orchestras at Northwestern University (Chicago, USA) – coached and conducted the Festival Orchestra in a stunning performance of the Mozart Jupiter Symphony. I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to play flute in the symphony alongside the fine young international students and local musicians from the China conservatories. Under Dr Hasty’s patient guidance, particularly the string players made dramatic improvements during the three days of preparation and became a very fine orchestra in a very short time. Dr Hasty also led conducting masterclasses aimed at music teachers (including myself) and students. We all benefited enormously from his clear, logical explanations and fine conducting technique. It was a real privilege working with and learning from such a excellent musician.
As I have said, the culmination of all the hard work was the performance in the Forbidden City Concert Hall of Mozart’s epic Symphony 41 in C Major ‘Jupiter’ and his monumental Requiem. What an experience for us all to put on a concert like this in such a special location as Beijing’s Forbidden City. The requiem choir had about 300 singers on stage, with students and teachers from 19 International Schools as well as the visiting professors participating. Conducted by Festival Director Shane O’Shea, the sound of the choir was rich and beautiful. It is so unusual to witness a choral performance where the power of the voices easily matched that of the orchestra. The precision of the singing in the chorus was truly remarkable, with clarity of articulation, phrasing and diction enabling the difficult Latin text to be clearly heard throughout. The energy and power of the choir was tempered by the tight ensemble work achieved through detailed sectional practises.The hard work of all the schools and their music staff culminated in a thrilling and impressively accurate performance. I am so proud to have been involved and look forward to making an annual pilgrimage with my students to future Festivals.