M.E.N. at ISB for the Bangkok International Choir Festival (BCIF)

For over two decades, the Bangkok International Choir Festival (BICF) has provided an opportunity for students in and around the Bangkok area to gather together and be exposed to great choral music, great leadership, and a common love for singing. This year we added another layer of intensity to this amazing festival. Instead of one guest conductor we Invited 13! The vocal group Male Ensemble Northwest inspired our young choristers, and put on a fantastic concert which WOWED audiences as well. The special thing about this singing ensemble is that each (member) is also a choral conductor at their home in the Northwestern region of the U.S.A. They graciously left their busy jobs and families to travel to Bangkok, perform for us, and share their love and great wisdom of singing with our students. This group is an outlet for some of the finest performing teachers in the U.S. to get together and share a deep love of their craft. By doing what they love, these teachers provide the finest model their students could ask for.

The week preceding BICF, M.E.N. visited all of the schools that attended the festival to deliver individual workshops. In each session, the members of M.E.N. made students feel at ease while showing them how to have fun and be passionate about achieving excellence. I could say that it was almost magical to watch them do their work, and in turn, watch the students improve, But I know there was no magic happening in those classrooms. The skill and training required by each of them to be able to do what they do was no trick or accident. It was simply amazing teaching and inspired students. The real magic happened in the Chevron theatre at ISB on Saturday the 8th of October when all 400+ students took the stage and performed with MEN in a grand concert that was received with a unanimous and thunderous standing ovation. Student Learning is at the heart of every concert that we produce at ISB, and the most vibrant and powerful learning happens when the concert is important and meaningful to our community. We hope you won’t miss our BICF concert next year or any of the fantastic concerts that are put on by our hard working arts department.

 

from International School Bangkok http://ift.tt/2o8KlTN