On the last week of the first semester of the school year, students of all ages treated their families and the greater Yew Chung International School of Beijing community to a showcase of the performing arts. Choral selections, instrumental soloists, orchestral arrangements, rock band rock-outs, and interpretive dances made up a diverse selection of performances over a three-day span.

Early Childhood Education and Primary School students focused largely on holiday-appropriate songs, including Deck the Halls, sung by the Years 1-3 choir, Jingle Bells, performed by the Year 3 violins, and Joy to the World, sung by the Year 4-6 choir. Our younger In-school Individual Instrumental Programme (IIIP) also demonstrated the fruits of their dedicated practice throughout the year during their solo performances!

The Secondary School performances contained a wider variety of material. The well-known student rock band The Monochromes performed a Christmas song, the orchestra a selection of contemporary and classical pieces, the choir a number of contemporary pieces, and a dance number by Years 7-9 students to Vivaldi’s Winter.

Head of Performing Arts was impressed with the performances, remarking that, “the Year 4-6 performance in particular was excellent thanks to [new dance teacher] Annette Atkins incorporating quite a lot of dance into it. It added some welcome variety to the musical performances.” He went on to add, “I really enjoy seeing students out of their comfort zones and doing something different. These kinds of experiences are experiences they’ll remember forever even after leaving YCIS Beijing.”