The excitement was palpable as four talented International School Bangkok (ISB) student musicians boarded the coach for Suvarnabhumi Airport last month, destined for The Hague in The Netherlands. It was a long way to travel for a mere four days, but what an amazing, jam-packed time our students had.
A Glimpse into the AMIS Jazz Festival
Our talented High School musicians, composed of one guitarist, one trombonist, and two percussionists, took part in the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS), pronounced ‘amis’ like ‘friends’ in French, Jazz Festival and Jazz Skills workshop.
The Jazz Festival has two auditioned components, a traditional Big Band and a Vocal Jazz Ensemble, as well as a non-auditioned Jazz Skills Workshop, which welcomed this year around 100 students interested in learning more about jazz artwork. Many of these students will go on to perform in subsequent years’ Big Band - in fact, one of the accompanying teachers from the many schools across the world was a previous Jazz Skills workshop participant himself!
Musical Collaboration: Making Friends Through Jazz
ISB Music students Oliver, Max, Florent, and Uday quickly found themselves in workshops and rehearsals for shows on Saturday and Sunday, attended by parents and staff of their host school, American School of The Hague. The Big Band even performed for all school staff within just five hours of meeting each other - which just whetted the appetite for the final big performance just two days later. It was wonderful to see how music brings people together and how common interests spark friendships and collaborations.
Auditions and Preparation - Dedication and Commitment
AMIS is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence at all levels of music education in international schools, bringing together music professionals to share their passion for and knowledge of music across all genres. The Jazz Festival was the first event in this year’s calendar, and, as such, those students who took part in the Big Band and Vocal Ensembles had to audition in semester 2 of last year and then commit to learning and practicing their pieces throughout the summer.
ISB Musicians Creatively Connect
The leading teachers remarked on how polished and prepared these students were, and it was obvious that jazz is a real passion for each of these students. Accompanying staff member Harriett Gething, the Director of Marketing, Communications, and Alumni, was taken by the student’s love of jazz - with each student generally choosing to listen to jazz on their seat back screens on the flights rather than the latest blockbuster movies!
Tom Myers, High School Music teacher and leader of ISB’s Jazz Band was so proud of his four students, remarking, "our ISB jazz musicians were featured in the two main performances because of their strong skills and deep appreciation of jazz music. Most enjoyable for me was watching our students connect and make friends with other outstanding jazz musicians from around the world."
Show Stopping Performances
You can watch the entire show-stopping concert on the AMIS website here: https://amis-online.org/page/concert-showcase-23-24, which includes Florent’s stunning trombone solo ‘Who Will Rescue You’ by Carla Bley - and do look out for the masterful pair - Oliver on drums and Max on guitar - throughout the show.
Interested in learning more about ISB's music program or admissions, please inquire here.