TFS - Canada's International School

"Music is the most understood language in the world. For without knowing the language it was written in, we can weep over an African song, or an emotional song from any part of our world, because certain sounds manifest themselves universally, such as sadness, grief, joy, anger," says Rupert Price, music teacher, and band and ensemble leader at the Senior School. The music trip to Italy last spring layered on that idea, giving 39 students, from Grade 7 to Level V, a culturally immersive experience. "They were in a country with a deep and rich history; they could see how others live and experience why they are the way they are," he says. Intentionally, the performances our students gave were chosen to be culturally DQGFRQWH[WXDOO\VLJQLÀFDQWVRWKH\SOD\HG Monteverdi inside the San Marco Basilica and jazz on the streets of Venice, Florence and Rome. "The students played for each other, their audiences, and to honour and better understand the history of the compositions," says Mr. Price. Which leads to the experience of learning music itself. Mr. Price approaches KLVLQVWUXFWLRQSXUSRVHIXOO\:KHQÀUVW entering his class, he asks each student, "Are you here for everyone in this class?" The intent is to build a sense of collective well-being and caring, no matter the students' prior musical education. "It breaks down barriers and smiles appear. They each know they are integral to the delivery of the whole, and that individual progress is understood and accepted to be from each student's different point of departure," he says. Max B., student The intersection of music and history has been revelatory to Max B., a senior TFS musician and Level V student. Studying Russian music through different time periods, including communism, made him interested in history, he says. Rupert Price, teacher Music What particularly intrigued Max, a clarinet player who has been a member of the marching band, senior and chamber wind ensembles, as well as an assistant with the junior wind ensemble, is that music from a VSHFLÀFWLPHJDYHKLPGLUHFWLQVLJKWLQWRD culture undergoing massive societal change, such as during and after a revolution. "When political change happens, sometimes you don't think of the broader impact on art and society. However, then you hear the ideology in the music and understand how their moral stances affected their art," he says. And as Max discovered, the reverse can also EHWUXH´%HHWKRYHQ·V6\PSKRQ\ZDVWKH ÀUVWWLPHDPLQRUFKRUGZDVXVHGLQ(XURSHDQ classical music. Many thought it did not sound like music at all, but it carried a much greater implication in that it introduced an idea that expanded society's concept of what music could be." At TFS, we've always known that language is a gateway to understanding cultures, perspectives and points of view. With developing citizenship at the core of our educational being, it is now part of the fabric of every subject we teach and learn, truly making each subject a language of citizenship unique unto itself. 15 TFS ENTRE NOUS 2018

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