Pao students' adept playing dazzles audience at winter concerts

Music education has always been an integral part of Pao School's curriculum. We offer students a wide range of music learning opportunities, from the study of musical composition to hands-on playing. In addition, activities are organized throughout the year to give students further opportunities to showcase their creativity. These include student performances, workshops with guest artists, and concerts. The annual concerts have been particpated by both students and parents each year, making them the most widely anticipated musical events at Pao School.

Primary School

The Music Department focuses on facilitating students' study of both Chinese and Western music from all different eras. Our curriculum is based on the most effective elements of Chinese and international curriculum, focusing on musical concepts. Music lessons are creative and fun. Students are exposed to different styles and ideas through listening and they explore these ideas through improvising, composing and performing. Singing comprises an important part of the curriculum and all students focus on improving their sense of rhythm and pitch.

Moreover, through the school’s Extension Programmes, the Saturday Morning Music Programme and our lunchtime activities, we also offer students the chance to learn a wide variety of singing styles and musical instruments, among them strings, piano and woodwinds. Our instrumental ensembles include Chinese Ensemble, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Primary Choir.

Middle School

The music program in the Shanghai+ curriculum fosters music skills as they relate to listening, performing, theory, history and composition. Our curriculum focuses on playinginstruments, singing, basic music literacy and theory. Students are exposed to a wide variety of musical styles and genres, which helps them to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of music: melody, rhythm, harmony and timber.

The study of composition and improvisation is integrated into all year levels, allowing students to put musical theory into practice. They both compose written work using formal notation and create music with the aid of modern technology such as Logic Pro and GarageBand.

The Art Showcase at the Middle School is one of the premier activities in the Music Department each semester, culminating in a spectacular live musical performance.

"It was great to see the students build their confidence by performing onstage in front of an audience. Their performance was marvelous. I am proud of them all. "

—— Yunzhi Chen, Advanced Strings Teacher

"I enjoyed accompanying the choir on the piano with Ms. Hoffman. I have to say that I was really nervous when because there were so many parents in the crowd. Thankfully, I was fine once I started playing and overall I thought it was a great concert."

—— Alvin Wang, Y7 Strings Student

This concert is a kaleidoscope of musical notes and visually resplendent, a feast for the ears and eyes alike.

High School

Piano Concert and New Year Concert in Songjiang Campus

New Year Concert video edited by Year 8 student Steven Wang

Piano Concert

November 29, the 4th Piano Concert – Childhood Fantasia played live in Pao School’s Songjiang Campus. The music teacher Ms. Song, who holds dual master degrees in the music field, organized the event. There are four movements, namely "Dreams", "Home", "Joy", and "Love", involving 80 different student musicians from Year 8 to 12. The students' splendid performance, a fusion of choral singing and contemporary ballet, dazzled the audience. Especially impressive was their virtuoso musicianship: The performance included piano solos, piano duets and more. In total, students played 15 different instruments drawn from both the Western and Chinese musical canons: flute, Chinese lute, hang, harp, carillon, guitar, drums, violin and marimba, to name a few.

Outside the classroom and away from Pao School’s stage, Pao students are being recognized for their musical talent. Vivian Shi from Year 9 won first prize in the 9th Liszt Hong Kong International Piano Open Competition (Final, Hong Kong). Pao students Cuky Zhu and Yolanda Yaowon the first prize in the Piano Duet Group of the 6th International Young Pianist Competition (Final, Japan). Kelly Yang won the second prize in the Burgundy group; Year 8 student Eric Song won the Bach Group Excellence Award, Year 10Lisa Liang won the Chopin Nocturne Group Excellence Award; Year 10 student Arthur Chen won the first prize in the 11th Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition Junior B Group.

The piano concert has been a widely anticipated event at the Songjiang campus since 2015 because of the rich variety of musical works it features from both the Chinese and Western musical canons. Among the western musical periods covered are Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th century. Preparing for and performing this concert help students hone their musical vision and deepen their musical appreciation ability.

Ms. Song, Year 8 - 9 music teacher, who is also supervising Pao School's Piano Duet Ensemble and Chinese Drumming Club,commented:

The piano concert provides students with a key platform from which they can develop and showcase their musical talent. It is an organic reflection of Pao School’s Shanghai Plus and International Plus curriculum and whole-person education. The performance allows both IGCSE and music students to practice their performance, music appreciationand composition skills. From the musical performances, to the dancing, drawing, bilingual introduction and professional stage support, students all demonstrated their unique personalities and strong teamwork skills.

Below is the report from music students Cuky, Yolanda, Yvonne and Vivian：

The First Movement - "Dreams"

Students' virtuoso piano playing highlighted this movement. The audience was especially captivated by the opening piece, Bach's "Prelude in C" and accompanied by the enchanting sounds of flute, guitar, cymbals and bamboo flute. It was a marvelous fusion of Chinese and Western musical sounds.

The Second Movement - "Home"

This movement evoked a strong sense of nostalgia in the audience as the whimsical music carried them back to idyllic childhood memories.

The Third Movement - "Joy"

The opening piece of this movement, Anton Rubinstein's "Melody in F", was highlighted by beautiful piano playing and the angelic sound of Fiona's harp, evoking a romantic moonlit night. Martha Mier's "Jazz Walk" and "Easy Street Blues" brought to mind people dancing to the rhythm of ragtime and jazz. Meanwhile Jiang Dingxian's "Xikang Folk" evoked images of the halcyon Mongolian prairies. Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Reeds" from "The Nutcracker" rounded off this movement on a high note.

The Fourth Movement - "Love"

Pao School’s parent choir showcased their musical skills during this movement by singing a lovely rendition of "Four Seasons Greetings" accompanied by piano and violin. The soft and lively and romantic melody and rich harmonies told the story of the animated film "Kiki's Delivery Service". Finally, an adaptation of "Happy Birthday" ended the concert on a jubilant note.

New Year Concert

The dramatic sound of Zhoushan gong and drum music got the New Year Concert off to a rousing note. The New Year Concert differs from the Piano Concert in its focus on orchestral and choral performances.

YK Pao High School adopts the framework and offers both standard level and high-level music courses. music course seeks to develop students’ knowledge and potential musicians, both personally and collaboratively. Students are required to study musical perception and actively listen to a wide range of music from different parts of the world, cultures and time periods. They also develop aural perception and understanding of music by learning about musical elements, including form and structure, notations, musical terminology and context. Through this course of study, students become aware of how musicians work and communicate.

Beyond classroom studies, same as Pao School’s other campuses, our high school students could also take part in a variety of music interest groups, including choir, orchestra and ensembles.