Celebrations of the Arts

by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th

This past week our ISB community was treated to two wonderful concerts by middle school students. Combine these with our terrific band concert a few weeks ago, and you can see what an amazing music program we have for our students.

On Wednesday evening, our Middle School Orchestra students performed 12 pieces that sounded mature and rich, beyond their years of experience playing their instruments. Led by our orchestra director, Mr. Todd Weinhold, the students demonstrated their talent, hard work, and joy for making music. If you missed the concert, want to watch it again, or if you want to share it with family and friends, we recorded the evening, which I’ve embedded below.

On Thursday evening, our Middle School Choir students performed with additional pieces by our MS Drama II students and our MS Arts Council students. Connected by a theme of Cultivating Peace, and led by our Choral Director, Ms. Coleen Mann,  the audience was treated to terrific performances by our different boys and girls choirs, as well as many combined groupings – all with the wonderful accompaniment of Mr. Joe (and guests). As a bonus, there was a wonderful adult performance tribute to Ms. Mann, directed by Mr. Anthony Giles.

A special part of the concert was the backdrop which looked like a city wall, with graffiti written on it. As guests arrived at the concert, they were asked to write or draw onto paper circles what peace meant to them. Then throughout the concert, and music was performed in front of them, students from our MS Arts Council painted and “finished” the wall as a performance backdrop. It was a spectacular addition to the show. Thank you to those MS Arts Council students and their teacher leader, Ms. Trista Meisner.

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Adding to the event’s message of peace was a moving performance of a scene from Michael Slade’s,  “And A Child Shall Lead,” by our Drama II students and director Mr. Michael Sharp. The scene shared the experiences of children imprisoned in camps during the Holocaust. The dramatic piece moved the audience prompting further reflection and connection with the songs about peace and caring.

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In the end, this week has been bittersweet for our Middle School. We were, as always, treated to wonderful performances by our musicians (as we also were weeks ago with the band concert and musical), but we also had to wish farewell to teachers who have inspired and guided our students in these Arts: Mr. Weinhold (2 years at ISB), Mr. Sharp (4 years), and Ms. Mann (7 years). Thank you to each of them for sharing their passion for the Arts with our middle school students and the wider ISB community! You will always be Panthers!

Orchestra Concert, Wednesday, May 31st

 

Choir Concert, June 1st

 

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