Saimuse Charity Concert 2017

On Sunday the 5th of November, 6 international schools in Ho Chi Minh City, including 70 musicians from BIS HCMC came together to perform at the annual charity fundraising event; Saimuse. Student organiser, Chae Won reflects on this year's event...

70 enthusiastic BIS HCMC musicians from Years 7 to 13  from the Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, String Ensemble, Choir, Chamber Choir and Male Vocal group collaborated on Sunday to perform 2 pieces: Verdi's 'Anvil Chorus' and Coldplay's 'Fix You' at the HCMC Conservatory of Music for this year's annual charity event; Saimuse. The concert was a fantastic musical opportunity for all of us, featuring amazing music and a large audience. 

This concert was not just an ordinary event but was also a musical gathering for our musicians where we were able to meet keen, young students from other schools just like us. Watching other schools rehearse and perform and being on stage in front of such a large audience ourselves was certainly a great opportunity for each of us. This is particularly valuable because as musicians we will constantly have music around us and be up on the stage.

We were all entertained by a wide variety of music showcased by the different schools ranging from classical music to film music. When it was our school's turn to perform, the supportive audience, including our parents, welcomed us onto the stage with a warm round of applause and the faces that were full of nervousness backstage all turned into smiles the moment we we were about to perform. The students' hard work definitely contributed in creating such an incredible performance. 

It was an honour for me, Chae Won Oh, in hand with two other students, Seobin Kim and Emily Kim, to organise this event and take the lead in liaising with other student organisers of different schools. We would like to greatly thank all the students for working so hard and putting on such a fabulous performance. 

Director of Music at BIS HCMC, Mr Ian Alexander shares his thoughts on a brilliant evening of music; "I was impressed with the commitment to the extra rehearsals and also the way the students learned the difficult music privately. All the music staff were very proud of the fantastic performance the students put on, which received excellent comments from the packed and appreciative audience. Thanks again to Seobin, Emily and Chae Won for being our student organisers and to all the performers who worked so hard."

Missed the performance? Watch our two performances below:

Well done to all students involved in organising and performing at this wonderful event, roll on next year for another enjoyable concert!