The SAS music department seems to limit itself to periodic jazz band performances at assemblies in the eyes of students and teachers who are not involved in music activities. Well, they’re wrong.
SAS’s music department begins with its band, orchestra, guitar, and choir courses, then continues to expand with its numerous after school and club activity groups. The ten or so musical groups cover song production, a capella, charity orchestra, and more. There are also numerous organizations that host band, orchestra, or choir festivals where students from different schools come together as one ensemble.
The APAC band festival was hosted here at SAS from February 23 to 26. Ninety-six students from six schools in Asia gathered on our campus for an eventful three-day music festival. They spent the first two days rehearsing, totaling to over ten hours of rehearsal. “After a long day of rehearsal, I day-dreamed about eating Chinese dim sum,” admitted Sisley Yun from Seoul Foreign School.
By Saturday, students who were once strangers had become a collective force—a band. Much work was also done by the conductor. This year, the APAC band was conducted by the talented Mr. Rolf Becker. “It was a great, great pleasure to work with these wonderful, fantastic, talented musicians from six schools,” he said before the band’s final piece of the concert. “They are ninety-six storytellers, and they formed one story after the other in a wonderful way.”
There’s no doubt that the APAC band festival was a valuable experience to the student musicians. “It isn’t every day where you get a new conductor and get to play with eighty-plus people you’ve never met before,” exclaimed Claire Yu, a sophomore from SAS who participated in the APAC band festival as a clarinetist. “It definitely is a worthy experience.”
Music isn’t all about that rehearsal-life, though. Sophomore Yuka Kato, who was the piccolo player in the APAC band festival, remembered a funny memory. "The oboe player next to me would always accidentally press the sound option button on her tuner, so at the beginning of each piece there was always a noticeable 'BEEEEP' followed by a 'sorry my bad!'".
As an active musician in the SAS community, it always hurts when people don’t know much about us and what we do. I’m glad that the APAC band festival exposed the SAS community to the usually hidden musical side of SAS. Starting a few days before the advent of the festival, flyers promoting the soon-to-come APAC band concert appeared on pillars and boards, surprising some students who didn’t know much about the music in SAS. "I honestly don’t know much about it," one junior admitted when asked about her knowledge of SAS’s music department.
In my opinion, one of the main reasons why SAS’s music department is on the more under-rated side is due to the stereotypical nerdy or geeky label that’s associated with it as well as the lack of promotion. I feel like since most students aren’t interested in classical or jazz music, they will steer away from SAS’s music activities from the lack of pop, rap, or other genres that are more "mainstream".
The week after the APAC band festival, five students travelled with Ms. Karolina Pek to Abu Dhabi for the AMIS Choir Festival. AMIS, the Association for Music in International Schools, is an organization that hosts band, orchestra, choir, and jazz festivals for international school students around the globe.
Junior Risa Beddie is well known for her amazing voice and charisma on stage. As one of our best singers, she was able to take part in the festival in Abu Dhabi. "One thing that I have learned from this trip is how easy it can be to make new acquaintances through a deep passion for music, no matter where you are from or where you happen to be. Once, on an elevator ride, I was with three students traveling from Cairo, Egypt, who were from Germany, Dubai, and America," she recalled. "The whole event was a mixing pot of countless cultures, all there for one single purpose: to sing our little hearts out."
As a musician, the best part of going on a music trip like APAC or AMIS is being able to play or sing with the ensemble. It’s like being able to play on a sports team with amazing student athletes who really fit into your mold of an ideal team—and, can finally make the plays your home team could never do.
It’s one of my greatest pleasures to be able to be part of such a passionate community of student musicians that SAS’s music department creates. Like athletes, we practice hard. Like MUN and Forensics teams, we know how to make things sound good. And as Louis Armstrong said it, "musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them."
(We won’t stop.)
SAS’s music department begins with its band, orchestra, guitar, and choir courses, then continues to expand with its numerous after school and club activity groups. The ten or so musical groups cover song production, a capella, charity orchestra, and more. There are also numerous organizations that host band, orchestra, or choir festivals where students from different schools come together as one ensemble.
The APAC band festival was hosted here at SAS from February 23 to 26. Ninety-six students from six schools in Asia gathered on our campus for an eventful three-day music festival. They spent the first two days rehearsing, totaling to over ten hours of rehearsal. “After a long day of rehearsal, I day-dreamed about eating Chinese dim sum,” admitted Sisley Yun from Seoul Foreign School.
 |
| The APAC band during rehearsal on Thursday, February 23 |
There’s no doubt that the APAC band festival was a valuable experience to the student musicians. “It isn’t every day where you get a new conductor and get to play with eighty-plus people you’ve never met before,” exclaimed Claire Yu, a sophomore from SAS who participated in the APAC band festival as a clarinetist. “It definitely is a worthy experience.”
 |
| The APAC band on the night of their concert |
As an active musician in the SAS community, it always hurts when people don’t know much about us and what we do. I’m glad that the APAC band festival exposed the SAS community to the usually hidden musical side of SAS. Starting a few days before the advent of the festival, flyers promoting the soon-to-come APAC band concert appeared on pillars and boards, surprising some students who didn’t know much about the music in SAS. "I honestly don’t know much about it," one junior admitted when asked about her knowledge of SAS’s music department.
In my opinion, one of the main reasons why SAS’s music department is on the more under-rated side is due to the stereotypical nerdy or geeky label that’s associated with it as well as the lack of promotion. I feel like since most students aren’t interested in classical or jazz music, they will steer away from SAS’s music activities from the lack of pop, rap, or other genres that are more "mainstream".
The week after the APAC band festival, five students travelled with Ms. Karolina Pek to Abu Dhabi for the AMIS Choir Festival. AMIS, the Association for Music in International Schools, is an organization that hosts band, orchestra, choir, and jazz festivals for international school students around the globe.
 |
| The AMIS choir on their concert night, from ACS Abu Dhabi Events Youtube channel |
As a musician, the best part of going on a music trip like APAC or AMIS is being able to play or sing with the ensemble. It’s like being able to play on a sports team with amazing student athletes who really fit into your mold of an ideal team—and, can finally make the plays your home team could never do.
It’s one of my greatest pleasures to be able to be part of such a passionate community of student musicians that SAS’s music department creates. Like athletes, we practice hard. Like MUN and Forensics teams, we know how to make things sound good. And as Louis Armstrong said it, "musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them."
(We won’t stop.)
