The original intention of the online concert was to create more opportunities and
platforms for students to show their musical talent. But our students truly amazed
us, even far beyond our imagination. Their passion and energy were really inspiring.
We are so proud that our students gave us such a wonderful and professional concert.
——Yunzhi Chen, Head of Middle School Arts
As we all watch from our windows, the flowers have begun to bloom and the birds to sing, the signs of summer have finally arrived. Through these times, the school’s students and staff have been finding ways to connect through activities such as remote concerts, online meetings and classes, and contests. Despite being unable to meet in person, these times are an important reminder that a school is more than just a building, it is also the community itself.
The school’s transition to online learning has been smooth. However, whole-person education is about more than just academics, and as such the school has also been busy organising remote sports, music, and arts activities. For example, the Middle School hosted a recently musical concert online – providing an essential platform for students to practise performing and challenge themselves. Through these proactive and creative approaches to the situation, the Pao School community’s resilience and connectedness has shined through.
Tracy Tao, Middle School Music Teacher, explains that music classes, like other subjects, have been taught through online platforms during the online learning period. Through using this technology, teachers can interact with students through video, provide demonstrations to students, and comment on their performances remotely.
During preparation for the online concert, teachers gave students the freedom to experiment and play their favourite musical pieces. After selecting their performance piece, students were able to use class time to practise and sort out any issues they encountered. Further, they could also join after-school rehearsals to hone their skills and fully prepare for the live performance.
Excerpts from the concert
Y8E Jerry
Piano Solo - Senbon Sakura
"Music can help us relax during this challenging time. I chose this song
because it is fun to play and enjoyable for the audience to watch."
Y6A Rarity
Cello Solo - Bach Cello Suite
"This song is a brilliant, cheerful and lively tune; all the base keys and
movements start and end in C major. It is especially fitting for this period. During
this somber time, we need to shine a little light that can cut through the gloom."
Y7A Tom
Violin Solo - Vivaldi "Four Seasons" "Summer"
"This song is called 'Summer', and I hope it can liven up everyone’s
spirits while expressing my hope to return to school in the summer."
Y6E Daniel
"This piece has always been a favorite of mine; that’s why I chose to perform it."
The online concert gave the young musicians a chance to diversify their musical learning opportunities and provide high-quality musical entertainment to the broader Pao School community. Daniel (Y6E), who participated in the performance, says that he felt a lot of pressure during preparations for the concert due to regular schoolwork and the need to prepare for a large-scale international piano competition. However, after the competition, he felt a sense of relief. In a more relaxed state of mind, he was able to achieve much more in his music practice sessions.
Middle School music class
The Middle School offers a rich selection of music courses that follow the Chinese National Curriculum and are taught in line with Pao School’s unique characteristics. The courses include choral singing, instrumental music study, and music creation. In music class, students not only learn about music theory, history, and composition but also take part in solo, duet and large ensemble performances. During their time at the Middle School, students can select music courses based on their interests and teachers use lively teaching methods to improve students' musical literacy and musical cooperation ability.
When students enter Year 6, they can choose one of four music classes: world music, strings, wind or choral. In Year 8, students who choose to study world music can further select a sub-category of that genre for in-depth study: piano, strings, wind or choral.
World Music is a theory-based comprehensive music course suitable for all students. In the course, students learn to listen analyse and evaluate musical compositions, as well as how to compose music of their own. Alongside exposing the students to different cultural music, the course develops students' appreciation for all types of music. In the string courses, students are divided into beginner classes and advanced classes according to students' performance experience and abilities. The beginner students learn to play string instruments, while students in the advanced level focus on improving their performance skills with works from different periods and composers.
In wind instrument classes, students learn how to play woodwinds, brass and percussion. The course teaches students basic music composition and playing skills, including orchestral performance. In the choral singing class, students will learn the basic vocal methods for singing in a chorus, improve their singing skills, and learn to sing songs in different musical genres.
The annual winter and spring concerts are an outstanding platform for students to showcase their musical talents. During these concerts, all students learning instrumental and choral performances at Pao School participate. Jerry (Y8E) says that the school's music classes focus more on cultivating students’ performance skills than technical expertise. In Jerry’s piano class, the teacher not only lets the students practise in classic ways, but also includes some creative, less conventional types of piano performance, such as four-handed playing and arrangements for two pianos.
"Because it's a two-piano piece, we learn more than just how to hone individual performance skills. It’s also about learning how to cooperate with other musicians, how to handle and present the piece, and how to deal with emergencies on stage," Jerry explains.
Rarity (Y6A) also finds the group practise helpful, saying, "Compared with practising alone, I can learn more in a group practice as it allows students to give each other advice. This helps me be better aware of where I need to improve.”
Jerry, who participated in the online performance, joined Pao School in Year 3. In Jerry’s view, compared to previous music classes he has taken elsewhere (which mostly consisted of music theory and vocal music), the Primary School offered a greater selection of instrumental music, allowing students to hone their orchestral performance skills.
Jerry notes that as Pao School’s music courses become more in-depth, they bring more benefits for self-improvement. By middle school, the courses require more time and energy for serious study. Despite this, Jerry hopes to continue studying music in high school, saying, "Now, music is no longer a burden for me, but a way to relax. I think if I can stay in this mindset, I can refine my music skills and playing music will be more meaningful for me in the future.”
"As long as you enjoy playing music, you won't feel bored when you practice,” says Tom (Y7A). He compares it to doing a job one enjoys so much that it does not even feel like work. In addition to the violin and piano, Tom has self-taught himself the trumpet. As he already had a strong foundation due to studying other instruments, learning the trumpet was not as hard. He explains, “I just read the musical notes for it; tried playing them myself, and searched for instructional videos online to teach myself the more challenging techniques.”
During online learning two years ago, Tom also began composing music with his computer. He initially focused on electronic music, but after following two bloggers who are classical music buffs, he became a convert to this ancient and endearing type of music. "Classical music not only has a calming effect on listeners, but we can also learn about history from it, which is inspirational,” Tom says.
