The UISG Performing Arts department was very excited to welcome back our ISMAG Piano Competition adjudicator, Professor Liu Huiming, from the College of Music and Dance, Guangzhou University. This time, Professor Liu was not alone – accompanying her were a group of her piano students!
On Tuesday afternoon in the UISG Admin Hall, the ‘Guangzhou University Music Recital’ featured the seven university piano students in a concert of two halves. At special request of Professor Liu, joining them to perform in the first half was our very own Year 12 DP Music student, Vivian, who was an award winner at the ISMAG Piano Competition 2023.
The UISG audience of staff and students were taken on a piano journey across 250 years of Western Art Music (“classical music”). From Haydn and Beethoven to Chopin, Brahms and Liszt, listeners were also treated to music from the 20th Century, through Debussy and Ravel, Coleridge-Taylor, Prokofiev and Kapustin. It was an extraordinary experience and a privilege to see and hear these fine young pianists in action.
IB Music courses explore three roles, that of researcher, creator and performer. Performance and active listening are important parts of the courses, and the experience of a high calibre live concert was the perfect opportunity for Year 9 to 12 Music students to gain a wider perspective of this performance component. These High School Music students made up the audience for the first half, while a Year 6 audience represented Primary well as an audience for the second half.
It was also a special time for our Early Years Music Teacher, Ms Jessie, who helped coordinate the event featuring her former teacher, Professor Liu.
We look forward to future visits from the talented students of the Guangzhou University College of Music and Dance and wish them well for the rest of their busy academic year.
Mr Malcolm Mawhinney
UISG Head of Performing Arts (K-12)
