Music Connects NAIS Pudong Students to their Community - 2020

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination

 and life to everything.”

 – Plato

Nord Anglia recognises the significant power that music can have in our lives. Music education has been proven to develop all aspects of a child’s learning abilities, as it strengthens both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This means that actively participating in music not only develops students artistic and creative abilities but also improves memory and cognitive function.

In recognition of the importance of music in education, Nord Anglia has a long-standing partnership with renowned music school Juilliard in New York. Through this collaboration students are invited to create, perform and reflect on music from a variety of genres. As a musician with a focus on holistic music education, this is one of the main characteristics that drew me to Nord Anglia.

In my years of experience as a holistic music educator, I have seen how music can expand students’ imaginations, while also helping them develop all aspects of themselves. By using body percussion their kinesthetic skills are advanced, aural and language development occurs through singing, and cognitive development is advanced by learning the theoretical components of music.

We encourage our students to explore their creative potential by actively engaging in music not only recognised as significant in the West but also music from other cultures. Our syllabus incorporates music from India, China and Jamaica, to name just a few. By exploring the music of other cultures, students get a better understanding and appreciation not only of the musical landscape of that culture, but a window into their culture and way of thinking.

Apart from learning about musical cultures in the classroom, we also create opportunities for students to engage with the community around them. Recently our students have performed at the Kerry Hotel in Pudong, as well as the Hyatt, spreading the festive cheer. Furthermore, our pupils often take place in music competitions – one of our Year 10 students won a silver medal in the Raffles Arts and Culture Festival in Singapore last year, and this year we have an exciting Virtual Musician of the Year competition which invites pupils from all across the world in our 69 Nord Anglia schools to showcase their performing skills.

Our pupils also have unique opportunities for collaboration: in September one of our Year 12 students had the opportunity to perform with the co-principle clarinetist of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Junnan Sun, who taught him about improvisation in jazz music. Shanghai has a rich cultural landscape which we encourage our students to explore by attending concerts of Classical orchestras, chamber music concerts, as well as the jazz and pop concerts.

The performing arts are an important aspect of life at Nord Anglia Pudong and we look forward to many more exciting performance opportunities for our students in 2021!