Author: Tomos Nicholls, Head of Music - Primary Campus
At the heart of the Primary Campus Music curriculum learning journey is the opportunity for every child, from Preschool to Year 6, to showcase their age-appropriate musical talents to their peers and parents.
This academic year, the JB Music Department, in collaboration with our Languages Department, has prioritised celebrating and embracing the diverse cultural backgrounds of our students here in Malaysia.
Year 4 led us through an exploration of the story of Deepavali, Year 3 guided us through our Lunar New Year Celebrations, and most recently, Year 6 delivered our assembly for our Hari Raya celebration.
These cultural celebration assemblies showcased the artistic identities of our shared cultural heritage through spoken word, role play, dance, choral speaking, singing, arts and crafts, instrumental performances, and translanguaging. Year 3 shared an instrumental and vocal performance of 顽皮的小猫咪 (wánpí de xiǎo māomī, Naughty Little Kitten), Year 4 presented traditional dance choreography to Manggala Oliveesum Deepavali, and Year 6 celebrated Hari Raya through an instrumental gamelan performance of Perang Besar and vocal performance of Wau Bulan. These performances provided every child with a journey through the rich tapestry of cultures that form Malaysian society, helping them gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diversity that surrounds us.
In other performances, Year 5 celebrated their collaborative curriculum work in Term 2 with a Battle of the Bands showcase. Year 2 gave us the opportunity to enjoy their explorations into group instrumental work in their Blast Orff Showcase. Year 1 celebrated a year of music-making with their Big Sing Showcase through a programme of class-based songs and a collaborative number for the entire year group. Finally, in our Early Years, Pre-School and Reception parents have been welcomed into the music classroom to participate in open classrooms, where they can gain first-hand experience as to how musical learning takes place at this age range.
You can watch all celebrations and performances via the JB Music Gallery. We look forward to continuing our celebration assemblies and participatory activities next year and further developing a strong tradition of cultural recognition through the Arts. We are excited to keep building a rich legacy of performance and showcase.