ISCMS Lyric magazine feb2014 by Gerard Dutton

February 2014 Issue I

Lyric

Past ISCMS Festivals ISCMS I, 2008 Requiem by Gabriel Fauré Dulwich College Beijing, Beijing, China 12 schools, 120 singers, 25 orchestral members

ISCMS II, 2009 Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi South Island School, Hong Kong, China 15 schools, 150 singers, 30 orchestral members

ISCMS III, 2010 (Forbidden Requiem) Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, China 22 schools, 300 singers, 90 orchestral members

ISCMS IV, 2011 (Oriental Fables) Belshazzar’s Feast by William Walton Oriental Arts Centre, Shanghai, China 20 schools, 300 singers, 90 orchestral members

ISCMS V, 2012 (Lumen) Gloria, Te Deum, Qing Zhu by Karl Jenkins Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, China 26 schools, 360 singers, 140 orchestral members

ISCMS VI, 2013 (MASSive) Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms, MASSive by Paul Barker, The Hollow Men – Part 1 by John Hui Busan Cultural Center, Busan, Korea 20 schools, 300 singers, 100 orchestral members

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ISCMS VII, 2014 (IIVII)

Lord Nelson Mass by Joseph Haydn, Temen Oblak by Christopher Tin, Jenkins Award-Winning Piece (TBD) Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, China 20 schools, 200 singers, 100 orchestral members

Table of

Contents 4

I S C M S – A B r i e f I n t ro d u c t i o n by Shane O’Shea

A t t e m p t i n g t h e A b s u rd b y D r. M a r t i n A d a m s

ISCMS and Music Education b y D r. R o b e r t H a s t y

A Letter f ro m K a r l J e n k i n s

MASSive by Jenny Xie

An Interview with Christopher Tin

S i x Ye a r s a n d C o u n t i n g by John Hui

Entering a New Era by Shane O’Shea

Shane O’Shea

ISCMS Committee Chairperson

Canice Gleeson

I S C M S C o m m i t t e e Tre a s u re r

G e r a rd D u t t o n

I S C M S C o m m i t t e e S e c re t a r y

Leanne Chu

I S C M S C o m m i t t e e A l u m n i O ff i c e r

John Hui

I S C M S M a g a z i n e E d i t o r- i n - C h i e f

ISCMS

A B r i e f I n t ro d u c t i o n

The International Schools Choral Music Society (ISCMS) was founded in 2008 at Dulwich College Beijing. From its humble beginnings, ISCMS has grown into the region’s premiere music society. Its founding fathers, Dr. Martin Adams and Shane O’Shea, continue to drive the organisation forward through a blend of innovation, inspiration, and determination. The ISCMS philosophy is based on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and passion. At its core is the challenge of bringing together a diversity of cultures and backgrounds to foster a global music experience. ISCMS will endeavour to give its participants an unrivalled and memorable experience that will develop the musician within whilst promoting a m o r e h o l i s t i c c h a r a c t e r, through engagement and experience.

practitioners such as composers Karl Jenkins and Christopher Tin. Dr. Jenkins is now a patron of the Society. Evolution is an interesting concept in music societies, one that is often spoken about but rarely delivered. ISCMS prides itself on a continuous reflective process, one that involves all participants in a sharing and positive environment. We seek to produce a proactive response from all involved, one in which the individual musician is never bigger than the music he practices. This allows for the continuous planning, development, and evolution of the Society. ISCMS organises an annual five-day festival in which all orchestral participants are ABRSM Grade 8 (or equivalent) and above, and all

by Shane O’Shea choirs are the very best each member school has to offer. Practitioners are brought in to lead the musicians: Dr. Robert Hasty for the orchestra, and Shane O’Shea for the choir. On top of this, ISCMS offers a variety of master classes, including piano from the world-renowned Helen Lin, choral and orchestral conducting from Dr. Hasty and Mr. O’Shea, individual singing lessons from professional vocalists, and seminars on the current IB Music set works from college professors. This format delivers an all-round experience to each and every participant, student and teacher alike. Another core belief of ISCMS centres around repertoire choice: the Society looks to offer music that is challenging to perform in an individual school or local community,

The ISCMS Head Office is based in Hong Kong, where it is recognised by the governmental authorities. The team has evolved into a sevenmember committee, geared towards maintaining ISCMS as the premiere music society in the Asian Pacific region. The group continues to involve world-famous

ISCMS

by Shane O’Shea

A B r i e f I n t ro d u c t i o n

music that one may potentially perform only once in a lifetime. Some of our past repertoire include the Mozart Requiem, William Walton’s B e l s h a z z a r ’s F e a s t , a n d Brahms’s German Requiem. Alongside large-scale choral work, the orchestra also performs an instrumental piece, such as a symphony or an overture. Last year we introduced the Jenkins Award for Composition. This competition is open to all member schools, with each school submitting one student composition written for choir and orchestra. The winning entry, as judged by Karl Jenkins, is performed in the Gala Concert, a unique opportunity for our young composers.

ISCMS pledges to hold the Gala Concert in the best concert hall the host city has to offer. Past performances have taken place in The Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, The Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, and the Busan Cultural Centre in Busan, Korea. The overall experience for all participants is unrivalled, as seen in the student and practitioner testimonies on our official website: ISCMS.net. As we move forward and continue on a path of innovation and creativity, ISCMS is planning to organise a Jazz Festival and a Junior ISCMS, along with many new and inspiring ideas that will be incorporated into the existing framework. In three years, as

we head towards our 10th festival, we hope that many ISCMS alumni will join us one again for what will be a phenomenal adventure. I leave you with a thought and pledge. Our ultimate aim is to instil in our students a lifelong passion and commitment to music: one that acknowledges music as being greater than the individual, one that breathes life and energy into the soul, one that demands a positive, collaborative, and proactive approach from all involved. This philosophy also aims to aid the development and evolution of music during the 21st century through the engagement of the individuals that will one day help shape the art form.

For more information, visit www.iscms.net

Attempting the Absurd An Underlying Principle

by Dr. Martin Adams

What can one say about this unique festival? My experience and memories across the last six years have been dominated by music's extraordinary ability to draw together people of all ages and levels of experience. After an intense process of sharing and collaboration, we all leave the festival enriched –not just musically, but by an awareness of our common bonds across different cultures, races, and backgrounds. Music can achieve this like no other art. Some of the young people who participate in ISCMS will go on to become professional musicians; several are already in the process of doing so, currently studying at p re s t i g i o u s m u s i c s c h o o l s around the world. But most will not. That is partly what ISMCS is about. The seconddesk cellist and the principal clarinetist might be skilled enough to consider a professional career, but they may nevertheless prefer to work as a lawyer, a doctor, a chemist, or a social worker. One of the most remarkable things about music is that once you've done it, you do not have to walk away from it, no matter how you choose to earn your living. ISCMS is also about the opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to learn from one another.

As one of the old hands, I've been especially struck by the extent to which the professionals – the school teachers, the rehearsal leaders, the conductors – have been inspired by young people, with whom they are working in close quarters and under huge time pressure. Believe me, ISCMS is as challenging and inspiring for those with years of experience as it is for those who have never participated in large-scale music-making. The great Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (1547– 1616) expressed the principle underlying ISCMS when he said, "In order to obtain the impossible, one must attempt

the absurd." When it was decided that the main choral work for 2011 would be Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, several of us wondered if we were losing our marbles. Inspired by the relentless, virile panache of Walton's music, the courage of the ISCMS founding director Shane O'Shea, and the conducting of Dr. Robert Hasty, everyone rose to the challenge. After months of preparation by teachers and students and the intensive rehearsals during the festival, the final concert was a tremendous success in the splendid surrounds of the Oriental Art Centre in Shanghai. I remember ISCMS for other

Attempting the Absurd An Underlying Principle unique features as well: new compositions by students and teachers; evening concerts given by various professiona l s ; l e c t u re s a n d m a s t e rclasses for instruments, voices, composers, and singer-songwriters. Among these I especially appreciated the new works featured in 2013: The Hollow Men by the winner of the inaugural Jenkins Award for Composition, Dulwich College Beijing student John Hui, and the engaging energy of MASSive, a non-traditional setting of a very traditional religious text, by the Hong Kong-based music teacher Paul Barker. But every year has had something equivalent to offer. I have been amazed at the ability of ISCMS to regularly present new challenges and absurdities that make us feel we have achieved the impossible. Choosing the main choral

by Dr. Martin Adams

work – an area in which I feel honoured to play a major role – is one of the central aspects of maintaining the festival from year to year. I think I speak for many others when I say that the choice for 2013 was especially revealing. In so many ways the romantic richness of the Brahms Requiem is a tougher proposition than the modernism of the Walton. Singing in German, learning the notes of an elaborate score, and coordinating with Brahms's colourful orchestral writing are just the start. Much deeper is the fact that so much of the music's expressive power rests in the Requiem’s recognition that music is one of western civilisation's greatest intellectual achievements. This is seen in its elaborate counterpoint, its fugues, its controlled intensity, and in the fact that it celebrates a distinctively

German intellectual and religious culture. During the festival week it quickly became evident that many of the singers were not sure what to make of the Brahms. But as time went on, and thanks not least to the passionate communicativeness of conductor Dr. Stephen Alltop, folks started to pick up what it was all about, what it should sound like, and how to give their all even when singing quietly. We all got so much out of it! Another triumph! You can hear parts of these 2013 performances on the ISCMS website. They go a long way towards vindicating the philosophy of celebrating music not because it is easy, but because it is hard, and because it can challenge every area of our shared humanity.

For more information, visit www.iscms.net

IS CMS and Music Education A Global Perspective

by Dr. Robert Hasty The opportunity to conduct in Beijing is one that no conductor like me could refuse; this was much more than one of my usual guest conducting appearances. I regularly conduct secondary school honour orchestras in various cities around the United States, but this was different. What I found at my first ISCMS festival in 2010 were students who were eager to perform worldclass repertoire, at a worldclass venue, with world-class practitioners.

In the summer of 2009, I taught an advanced orchestral conducting class for music teachers in the Master of Music Education Program at Northwestern University. Like many of the classes I have taught, it attracted some highly talented teachers wanting to improve their conducting, but this one had a particularly unusual student, one who did not fit the mould. He had an Irish accent and the most Irish of names: Shane O'Shea. What made this even more unusual was that he didn't teach in Ireland, or even in the States; this teacher said he taught in Beijing. I couldn't even begin to think about how he found Northwestern or why he would choose to get his Master's degree here; I was

still thinking about how an Irishman would find himself teaching music in a country such as China. We Americans tend to think only within our own borders, and even after a career spanning 22 years, I had never thought about how English-speaking students would be educated if their parents were required to work overseas. This was the first time I was to learn about international schools. During that summer, I realised that Shane O'Shea had been watching my teaching and conducting, and in me he saw an opportunity to develop and expand the programme he founded, known as the International Schools Choral Music Society.

In the United States, music education is delivered through a perfor mancebased curriculum: students can sign up for "band," "orchestra," or "choir" in their schools, and unfortunately, the standards of arts education are neither mandatory nor standardised. Sure, if you are fortunate, you may get a teacher who teaches musicianship through performance, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consistently happen. When I train teachers, I show them how students of the same age and socio-economic background can take the same class in two schools a mile apart and end up with two different experiences and outcomes, due to the inconsistency of our standards. This happens when music is taught for the

IS CMS and Music Education A Global Perspective performance, and not as knowledge. What is called "teaching to the test" in other subjects could be called "teaching to the performance" in music. In this respect the UK and international school models are superior to our US model. In international schools music is an academic area that is not subservient to other subjects. The students that I worked with knew music: they had studied style, form, composition, musicology, and aural skills. What a dream it was for me to work with these students for the first time! However, I did find one area in which these international school students possessed a deep hunger and need: they are willing to travel long distances for the breathtaking immersion in the divine aspect of music performance. Because the US model of music education is performance-driven, it is not uncommon to hear a public high school orchestra perform a Beethoven symphony, or a school choir perform a Gabrieli double choir motet. To give an example, I recently conducted a high school festival orchestra where the students performed two movements from

by Dr. Robert Hasty

Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, a l t h o u g h these American students may know how to perform, they may just as well not know anything about the music they are performing. I discovered that the typical international school student does not have the same access to professional level music performance opportunities that American students have. Where are there performance opportunities for international school students? Shane recognised this need for highlevel performance opportunities, so he created one: ISCMS. After two successful festivals focused on choral music, he decided to expand the repertoire to include orchestral music, inviting me as the festival's first orchestral conductor and practitioner. For my debut with ISCMS, I conducted Mozart's Jupiter Symphony for the first half of the programme. These orchestral students then got to experience the intensity of Mozart's creative orchestration in his Requiem. How many of us get to say that when we were 13 years old, we performed Mozart's Jupiter Symphony and the Requiem in the same concert

at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing? How about the entire Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton? What makes conducting these performances such a pleasure is that these students have had the kind of music education that I believe every world citizen should have. They are living their own world-class education by having a world-class performance. This lifeenriching experience is one that most students won't get to have in their home town, at their neighbourhood school, or even in their local youth symphony or choir; the ISCMS Festival was created so that students can have a performance opportunity that wouldn't ordinarily come their way. Consisting of a team of passionate educators and practitioners, ISCMS is now an integral opportunity for every international music student. I embraced the opportunity to be a partner in this initiative through my role as an Artistic Director: it is one of the most important facets in my career. I am proud to work alongside these incredible music students and teachers in ISCMS, and I continue to welcome the Society’s development in the coming years.

For more information, visit www.iscms.net

A Letter from

Karl Jenkins

My first experience at Dulwich College Beijing last February exceeded my expectations in many ways. Everyone’s enthusiasm, commitment, and musicianship was incredible, and on a personal note I greatly valued the welcome and warmth extended to me by both the participants and the staff. The festival was a wonder, with over 500 students from 12 countries coming together for the sole purpose of making music. Of course my involvement with the festival started long before my arrival, when I was first asked to write a piece to mark the event. The idea was to compose something celebratory, uplifting, and exciting. Having decided to use my global invented language (first heard in the Adiemus project) as text, I gave the piece a Chinese title, Qing Zhu (Celebration), and also brought some “local flavour” into the work with the erhu and by occasionally embedding a unique Chinese flavour in the harmonies. The final piece turned out very well and certainly struck a

chord with the listeners (pun intended!). One aspect of the piece for which I can take no credit was the magnificent climax with the addition of 40 or so djembe drummers: one of Shane O’Shea’s mad ideas! To backtrack a little, I arrived on my birthday, February 17th, and that evening I did a public interview with Shane O’Shea as my “interrogator.” It can be unnerving not knowing what one is going to be asked, but it went well, with an emotional finale. Four hundred young people sang “Happy Birthday” and presented me with a birthday cake with, thankfully, not enough room for the number of candles to mark my age! It certainly was “the icing on the cake,” as we say in the UK. And the concert. What a fantastic venue for this occasion – the Forbidden City Concert Hall. I had not seen so many people on stage since my days as an oboist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales! I shall not write a concert review; I will merely say what

I S C M S V, 2 0 1 2

a privilege it was to be involved and take the podium for some of my music. What did we get? Fantastic involvement and emotion. No, it was not flawless, but what does that matter when an emotional bond is made with the audience? It was a pleasure for me to meet the many dignitaries connected with Dulwich College, both in Beijing and elsewhere, at the pre-concert reception, and overall, it was a great night. My only regret was that I did not have enough time to fully explore Beijing or visit the Great Wall, although I did manage a little bit of sight-seeing and a couple of fantastic Chinese meals. This was a massive project that came off beautifully, a magnificent achievement by all involved. We are discussing the possibility of my return, which is welcome news indeed. Best wishes to all,

MASSive

ISCMS VI, 2013

A Reflection

Six years ago, ISCMS involved only 12 schools and 120 singers, and it was held in Dulwich College Beijing’s Edward Alleyn Theatre. ISCMS was born to bring many cultures together and to foster a global musical experience. Today, this philosophy remains unchanged, but the festival itself has grown: last year, 20 schools from a range of countries travelled to Busan, Korea, to take part in this momentous event. As some of you may know, last year’s festival was titled MASSive, and composer Paul Barker was commissioned to write a piece of the same name for ISCMS. Following ISCMS’s multicultural philosophy, MASSive is a mass written in the style of rock. The clash of the two disparate genres leads to something amazing – as soprano Ashley Wang put it, “it feels alive.” In addition to MASSive, Wagner’s Tannhauser, Brahms’s German Requiem, and John Hui’s The Hollow Men were also performed during the festival Gala Concert. Tannhauser was quite challenging for the orchestral players; there were definitely moments of sheer musical intensity. The Brahms Requiem is no doubt a masterpiece, rolling through the night in waves – at times raging oceans, at times peaceful lakes. Contrastingly, The Hollow Men is much more eccentric, with atonal chords and abstract lyrics. It evokes the feeling of a lonely walk through a mystifying graveyard. John Hui, the composer of this piece, was

by Jenny Xie

described by flautist Sarah Markus as “dark, scary John,” after the concert. Listening to the murmurs of the students, I felt that the general consensus was that last year’s festival was just as good as, if not better than, the previous years’. All of the smallest details mattered – a large basketball court near the practice area for recreation, packets of seaweed to accompany the rice during meals, stylish and comfy sweatshirts, and an ISCMS backpack. We must thank the host school, Busan International Foreign School, and their CAS events team for considering all of these details. Looking at the schedule, it isn’t difficult to notice that practice took up most of the time during the festival. The rehearsals were exhausting – your shoulders would ache from holding up the violin, and your voice would strain from

overuse. You would get tired of having to stand up, sit down, lean back, and stand back up again. However, despite all this, the effort made by the students was well worth it. To think about it, the efficiency during ISCMS was, as always, incredible – a two-hour performance produced in less than four days! “That moment when the performance started – it felt awesome,” commented violinist April Hui of Dulwich College Beijing, “I think we played and sang really well, and the music was also really excellent. If only it didn't pass so quickly.” As the festival ended with hails of “See you next year!” and “Keep in touch!”, there was no doubt that the musical experience was not the only thing the students gained from ISCMS – firm connections had been made between students, to be revisited in the years to come.

For more information, visit www.iscms.net

An Interview with

ISCMS VII, 2014

Christopher Tin Last spring, The Marcato Press caught up with Christopher Tin over Skype. This interview is reprinted with permission. When did you start composing music, and did you play an instrument at first?

I started composing when I was 16. At first it was very simple stuff – pop, musical theatre, bluesy jazz, and so forth. Eventually, once I started studying music more thoroughly at Stanford, I started getting a little more sophisticated. When I enrolled at the Royal College of Music I started finally calling myself a “composer.” However, I did play numerous instruments before then. I started with piano, then took up trumpet, guitar, bass, all before joining choir… So, even before writing, I was very heavily into music performance and theory.

What made you think composing was the career for you, and when did you know?

When I was 17, I wrote a musical that my friends and I performed in my high school. It was a fun process. I also got a lot of warm compliments from fellow students, and even some local celebrities. In fact, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, came to one of the performances – he lived two blocks away from me, and I was friends with his daughter. After the show, he told his daughter “That's the best thing I've ever seen someone his age do.” That encouragement was great for my confidence. What inspires you in music?

I actually get inspired by listening to other people's music… but only if it's good! Whenever I hear something new – whether it's a new contemporary piece, a classical composition I've never heard before, a pop song, a rap beat, etc. – if it's good, it gets my mind moving and my creative juices flowing. Maybe it just reminds me of just how rewarding the creative process can be, and makes me want to indulge in it again. When you won the Grammy Award, how did it feel?

It really didn't sink in until almost a year later, to be honest. The day of the Grammys, I was just so preoccupied with all the events going on – the interviews, the speeches,

etc. – that I didn't even stop to think about it. It was only the next year, when I was sitting at the Grammys watching other people receive awards, that the craziness of what had happened really dawned on me. Were you surprised at the success of your music for Civilization IV?

Somewhat, yes. I knew that I wrote a good song, but I had no idea that it would take off so well in the public consciousness! Are you looking forward to writing a new piece for ISCMS?

I've been excited about this for months now, and even more so towards diving into it this summer! I hope to give ISCMS something challenging yet fun, something that will open their eyes to some sounds and musical traditions that they have never been exposed to before. Finally, have you any encouraging words for student musicians?

Work hard, and don't despair if you don't see the results of your work right away – the fruits of your labours often take years to manifest. Be patient with yourself, keep an open mind, and try to learn from everything you see and hear. Ultimately, when you start to grow as an artist, don't be afraid of being yourself. Don't try to become someone else – just accept and acknowledge who you are, what it is that you do best, and work with it. Don't ever try to live in someone else's shadow.

Six Years and Counting ISCMS I - VI, 2008 - 2013

I fondly remember the first ever ISCMS Gala Concert, held in the Edward Alleyn Theatre at Dulwich College Beijing in 2008 when I was 12 years old. The choir looked massive, and the orchestra huge. My recollections don’t make much sense now, because looking at the facts and figures, I see there were only 120 participants. My only explanation is that I must have been very small back then, and everything looked much larger from my perspective. But I say this in two senses of the word “small.” While I’ve grown up physically over the course of six years and six festivals, I’ve also grown up musically. ISCMS has given me the experience of singing in larger and better-sounding choirs, accompanied by larger and more virtuosic orchestras, in larger and more prestigious venues. We have performed the heartwarming Faure Requiem, the gutwrenching Mozart Requiem, the exuberant Vivaldi’s Gloria, and the exultant Jenkins’ Gloria. We have sung the upbeat yet euphonious MASSive by Paul Barker and reaped the musical rewards of William Walton’s technically demanding B e l s h a z z a r ’s F e a s t . Obviously we’re nowhere near being short of choice for the future, but it’s fair to say that the ISCMS repertoire has spanned an impressive range of musical genres in a relatively short amount of time. As far as I know, I am one of only two students to have participated in every single ISCMS festival to date. I’ve seen the festival grow and develop over the past six years, and am proud to have been

by John Hui

part of the process. Every year I come to the festival with high hopes for the new things that I will experience; I leave with these hopes realised and even greater aspirations for the following year. I continue to take part in each festival not only because of what I experience at each one, but also because its continued g ro w t h c a p t i v a t e s m e a n d brings me back to the awe and excitement I felt in 2008. Each festival has presented a unique challenge that has helped my musical development. I learnt the basics of enunciating text in ISCMS I; my breaking voice forced me to tackle an unfamiliar vocal position in ISCMS II; I endeavoured to execute proper breathing control for the Kyrie of Mozart’s Requiem in ISCMS III. ISCMS IV’s Belshazzar’s Feast was my nightmarish first encounter with singing extended tonality, while ISCMS VI’s German Requiem was my equally nightmarish first attempt at pronouncing German. Both were technical challenges, even though I had no trouble singing Walton’s English text or discomfort with Brahms’s tonality. ISCMS V presented the unique challenge of trying to safely fit a 140-piece orchestra and a 360-piece choir onto the stage. What I really treasure in these challenges is not necessarily their difficulty, but their variety – they are what make the four days of rehearsal so stimulating and rewarding. I don’t have the slightest intention of ever ending my ISCMS festival streak. I look forward to watching it grow even larger in its significance, ambition, and audacity. I don’t know where the ISCMS road will lead, but I have feeling that the element of the unknown will turn out to be the best part about it.

For more information, visit www.iscms.net

Entering a New Era ISCMS VII, 2013

Janus is the Roman god of doors and symbolises beginnings and endings; he has great importance in the context of young people growing up. ISCMS, too, is growing up, and entering a new era of greater creativity, inspiration, and innovation. ISCMS VII, featuring Christopher Tin (twotime Grammy-winner for Civilization IV, computer game music), promises to be even bolder and braver than the previous six festivals. This year, it will be hosted by Dulwich College Beijing, with the Gala Concert to be held in the Forbidden City Concert Hall. ISCMS VII will be a platform supporting the next three festivals, building up to ISCMS X, our tenth anniversary. But for now let us focus on ISCMS VII, and inspire everyone to get involved in Asia’s premiere music society. The ISCMS Festival will take place from the 19th to the 23 rd of February, 2014, in the beautiful city of Beijing. Our host school, Dulwich College, has unrivalled facilities encompassing two state of the art theatres, two black box theatres, five spacious music rooms, eleven practice rooms, and a composition suite to rival anything anywhere in the world. This festival will attract over 300 participants from 25 international schools and 15 countries. All will gather and stay in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is only five minutes from the host school. The days will be filled with rehearsals of the festival repertoire: Haydn’s Nelson

by Shane O’Shea

Mass, Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bald Mountain, the winning Jenkins Award composition, and a new commission by Christopher Tin. Each evening the students will be entertained with a variety of events: a welcome mixer, numerous master classes and workshops, and An Evening with Christopher Tin, where they can ask Tin detailed questions about the life of a contemporary composer and industry leader. ISCMS VII heralds the return of Dr. Robert Hasty (Artistic Director – Orchestral), Helen Lin (Concert Pianist), and soloists Josefien Stoppelenburg, Gemma Ni Bhriain, Ciaran Kelly, and Timothy Parker, who will grace the stage for the Nelson Mass and offer students choral workshops during the festival. To participate in the festival, you must come as part of a member school. Upon joining, a member school is entitled to all the benefits that ISCMS has to offer. In addition to organising the festival event, the Society shares practitioners and resources with its member schools, as it aims to allow students and teachers alike to experience the ISCMS phenomenon throughout the year. Be brave and be bold: sign up for ISCMS now. Join Janus and the ISCMS team in delivering a one-stop music education experience for all, unrivalled anywhere in the world.