The end of term is a busy time at Yew Chung International School of Beijing. A particular highlight is the end of the year Primary concerts, in which students have the opportunity to showcase a year’s worth of musical and theatrical learning.

Last week, families and staff gathered in the auditorium for the Years 1-3, 4 and 5 concerts. They were a fantastic display of performing talent that showed off a variety of the musical and dramatic techniques that our students have been learning throughout the year.

On top of music and drama, our students put to use their linguistic skills too. Songs were performed in English, Chinese and Korean and prior to each performance, students introduced the pieces in English and Chinese. The concerts were a brilliant testament to our school’s multilingualism and painted a colourful picture of a truly global community.

For each years, the concerts showcased a range of musical styles, including tango, traditional folk songs, ensembles of percussion, well-known nursery rhymes, pieces from the classical canon and contemporary pop/rock.

Highlights from the Year 5 concert included some beautiful pieces by our violin ensemble – Castle in the Sky, by Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi and our school hymn. A small group of Year 5s sung Wang Zhihuan’s powerful poem On the Stork Tower (Dēng Guànquè Lóu) about climbing to new heights, and the performance was rocked to a cool conclusion by three Year 5 drummers: Nolan Bang, Peter Fu and Michael Yeung.

The Year 4 concert placed particular emphasis on the theatrical studies that our Year 4 students have been pursuing throughout the year. Students impressed the audience with some intriguing theatre - using movement and expression to react to a mysterious corpse onstage and other strange happenings.

A particular highlight was the Year 1 song “Flowers”. The Year 1s wrote the lyrics themselves, based on their learning in class. The song told important facts about flowers, including their role in the ecosystem, and was performed in a round – a technique that they have been learning in music. In a fantastic display of all-round learning, it was performed in front of a background of floral artworks that our students have been creating in art.

For the finale of the Year 1-3 concert, the stage was taken over by over 200 wild animals – zebras, lions, parrots, tigers – performing the ever-popular The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It was a fittingly vibrant, colourful and uplifting way to end a spectacular display of musical and performing talent.

“I was delighted with this year’s concerts”, remarked Mrs Anne Dwyer, music teacher and organiser of the concerts. “The students’ confidence really showed, and they were particularly excited to share what they had learned with their families. I’m always delighted to see how concerts bring about a real sense of community and unite year levels – this year was no exception.”