Last month, the KIS Strings Orchestra and the Advanced Band of our school performed at the Canadian International School and the Community Hall of St Mark’s Cathedral, Bangalore. Everyone present felt the peace that Berthold Auerbach spoke about when he said, “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”The audience at the Canadian International School was enthralled. A couple of younger students in the audience used twigs as batons in an attempt to imitate Pratap Chettri (Head of the Music Department) and Melissa Kessler as they conducted the Strings Orchestra and the Advanced Band respectively. Other younger students used their water bottles as trumpets. The members of staff were grateful for the “music therapy” and listened with rapt attention. One of them said that it was just what they needed after a particularly tough day; it put them in a “meditative state” and soothed their nerves. The Principal, Christopher Edmunds, an accomplished violinist himself, said our students played like “professionals”.
The experience at St Mark’s was a little more formal with many musicians, KIS alumni and students of music in the audience. Many people were so impressed with the standard of the performance that they came up to the staff and students to either make enquiries about admission to our school or to suggest that we advertise the program and conduct it in a larger space. Mr George Mathew, Artistic Director and Conductor, was awestruck by the performance.
Our students enjoyed the trip immensely and they were great ambassadors of the school even as they hung out on Commercial Street, Brigade Road and MG Road. The chaperones too had a wonderful, relaxed trip.
Pratap Chettri—HoD Music
