From the Head of School

 AMIS High School Jazz Festival

Between July and September each year the BBC sponsors a series of concerts known as the Proms.  In the past, I have been lucky enough to see some of the shows live at the Royal Albert Hall in London; every year I catch at least one on TV.

When you watch such musicians, you only think about the product; the process - how they make the music - is a long way from the minds of most in the audience.  Professionals make it all look so effortless.

A couple of weeks ago (just after this year’s Proms ended, as it happened) I was reminded how much effort it really takes to get to a stage of expert ‘effortlessness’. I was invited, along with parents and other staff, to Grade 4’s ‘First Note Day’. (Morio Kajiwara wrote about his experience in Thistle Talk on 16 September).

It wasn’t just the student’s first note with their new instruments, it was their first note as a band, and as a band playing in front of an audience. There could hardly have been an earlier stage to their musical development.  Mr Walter, their music teacher, had to show them how to sit, to hold their instruments, to blow hard but not too hard and where exactly to rest their lips. To count by tapping their feet, and to be aware of their fellows while looking at the conductor.  

Playing just one note in a band - not even the same one as it turned out - is a pretty complex affair requiring a lot of conscious thought.  The more students practise (practise correctly, that is - the reason Mr Walter’s role is so vital), the more all these micro-actions transfer to the unconscious, freeing the conscious mind to focus on the next challenge - which for Grade 4s is playing the right note.  

By December, these Grade 4s will be playing festive music to a far larger audience in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.  Their performance won’t be perfect, but we are not hiding them away until perfection happens - we won’t showcase only those who are further ahead.  The opportunity to create music and connect to others through it should not be an elite endeavour.  We celebrate each step forward.

For the last couple of days, ISA has hosted the AMIS HIgh School Jazz Festival.  International students from South Korea to the United States have joined us for a series of workshops that will culminate in performances this evening at 6pm and tomorrow at 7.30pm.  

If you come along, you will witness some pretty impressive musicianship (I can say that confidently as I have been listening in on the practise).  Unlike the Grade 4s where we can still see the effort, what these high schoolers produce will appear to come from their instruments as acts of nature - like the unself-conscious songs of birds.  

The beauty humans create is not hard-wired, only the potential is: we need to work hard over years, always focusing on the next step.  The AMIS High School Jazz Festival is an impressive culminating point, we are privileged to host.  For these students, it won’t be the last.