Dulwich Talk

We take a closer look into the goings-on at Dulwich College Shanghai

The Vienna Tour 2014

• Teacher Talk
• Mr Matthew Goss
• Director of Music at Dulwich College Shanghai

Another fantastic Vienna Tour was completed during the summer holidays. This year, DCS took a group of approximately 40 students and parents from three Dulwich Colleges; Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou, on the trip.

The first four days of the tour were spent with the Vienna Boys Choir in their school. It was very exciting and an absolute privilege to work with them and their teachers. The look on the students’ faces when the Vienna Boys began to sing was amazing. I am not sure they could believe that boys could make such a beautiful sound.

Dulwich College students collaborated very well and performed admirably with the Vienna Boys in their first concert together. This was followed by an exchange of gifts between the Vienna Boys Choir and our students and concluded with some lovely words about our musical relationship from Gerald Wirth, the Director of the Vienna Boys Choir.

In between practices, the group found time to acquaint themselves with Vienna visiting Eisenstad and touring Estherhazy Palace, which houses the world famous Haydn Concert Hall and Bergkirche with the mausoleum of Joseph Haydn.

Following our visit to the mausoleum, we were taken to lunch at a typical Austrian restaurant, which came complete with a gypsy Dulcimer performance. We were all fascinated at the similarities between the Dulcimer and the Chinese Yangqin; a great example of the history of the Silk Road.

Afterwards, we took a boat trip on Austria’s largest lake, at the end of which we were met by horse and cart, which proceeded to take us on a peaceful journey through farms and vineyards. After four days, it was time to leave Vienna and head for the beautiful 17th Century Imperial Summer Palace of the former Austrian monarchy. We were given a guided tour, delivered from a child’s perspective of Baroque times and our students got to dress up in Baroque costumes.

We then moved to the foothills of the Austrian Alps, to the very beautiful Naturhotel Steinscharlerhof in Pielachtal.  There we spent the week working on many new choral pieces, in various languages, and participated in composition and conducting workshops.

Our productive rehearsals were punctuated with many different activities such as boat building, t-shirt making, instrument making, sports and playing in the beautiful garden.

On one occasion, we took a walk to Mr Wirth’s house for a campfire with marshmallow toasting; a highlight for everyone. All involved were engrossed in the daily ritual of rehearsing, composing and vocal lessons with the Vienna Boys Choir teachers, activities and of course Austrian hospitality.

On Wednesday of the second week, we went for a hike through the hills. Although, this was no ordinary hike. At the end of the journey we arrived at a very small Baroque chapel, and here we performed our solos - the small group pieces we had been preparing with Vienna Boys Choir teachers and some pieces we had prepared as a colleges choir.

A small group of the more advanced choristers travelled into Vienna for the rehearsals for the concert at St. Stephen’s Cathedral while the larger group continued to put the finishing touches to their compositions.

On our final day, we travelled to Vienna and spent the afternoon at the Augarten Palais Vienna Boys School. Our evening concert celebrated the completion of our composition and we sang a few of the pieces. One very special performance was that of Shenandoah by Ms Bonner from Dulwich College Beijing, which was given to celebrate 4th July.

It was an honour to hear all the compositions at this concert. Every group demonstrated a real willingness to contribute their original musical ideas to the group, and at the end of the tour we could ‘hear’ the personalities of each musician within the groups.

The following morning, we met after breakfast to do some sightseeing around Vienna. We visited the wonderful House of Music museum, which is filled with many fine exhibits of composers, original musical scores and an array of examples of the physics of sound. The highlight of this visit was being able to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the end. Our final tour destination for the day was the former House of W. A. Mozart.

Later that day, the grand finale of the Vienna Tour arrived for the small group of students who had been working all year preparing ‘Missa’ in C by Mozart and ‘Missa Creole’ by Ramirez. It was time to preform with a choir of approximately one hundred and the Viennese Orchestra. The concert was superb and our students performed admirably despite being the only children in the concert.

We are extremely fortunate to have such a valuable relationship with Mr Gerald Wirth and the Vienna Boys Choir and our thanks goes to them for their outstanding hospitality. The Dulwich Vienna Tour is certainly unique and we are all looking forward to the 10th Anniversary tour next year.

Dulwich College Shanghai Shines In 2014 World Scholar’s Cup

• Dulwich College
• Shanghai Shines
• In 2014 World Scholar’s Cup

The World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) is a global competition consisting of four main events: collaborative writing, team debating, Scholar’s Challenge and the Scholar’s Bowl. The format is in three stages with winning teams from each round progressing into the next round. There is the regional round, followed by a global round and a final champions round. This year, the global round was held in Singapore and almost 2400 students participated – the highest attendance since the competition’s inception. DCS has been a regular participant and this summer our contingent was 12 members strong, split into four teams.

This year’s theme was the “World Within” and the six subjects explored were fascinating and ranged from the Science of Decision-Making to the History of Espionage. Other than the four competitive events, there were social events too, such as the Scavenger Hunt in Sentosa, a disco in Zouk, a night safari and the talent shows. The World Scholar’s Cup is more than just a competition; it’s the celebration of learning.

The DCS team performed well in their individual and collective efforts. Apart from the medals we received, we also gained experience, friendships and the selfconfidence to face challenges with humility and inner strength.

In terms of medals and trophies, DCS exceeded our success last year, with both first place and second place overall being won by DCS teams. Tara Parekh, Claudia Meng and Priyanka Iyer (all Y9, Team 124) emerged the overall winners of the competition in the junior division, while Angela Lin, Romain Speciel and Yifeng Dong earned second place. In addition, Priyanka, Tara and Claudia were also first place winners in the debate.

Tara was also placed fourth as an individual competitor! Additionally, in the junior division, Angela, Romain and Yifeng were third in the team debate, with Angela coming in third in the individual debate category and Yifeng coming in first overall. Furthermore, Ashley Wu, Victoria Gao and Stephanie Wong also received many individual and team awards. Haqshaarah Nair, Jay Xu and Titan Tsui also participated in the global round for the first time, gaining an invaluable experience.

The World Scholar’s Cup is not purely academic; it’s buckets of fun. Not only are there social events, you get free alpacas! Alpacas are the mascot for this competition and competitors receive a fluffy toy alpaca at each round. It’s a great experience that allows you to make friends and learn from others. Will it be challenging? Maybe… Will it be fun? Absolutely! The World Scholar’s Cup is AWESOME.

Dulwich College Shanghai News Round-up

Further Success At (I)GCSE

For DCS students Following a set of excellent IB results, the publication of this year’s (I)GCSE results has provided further cause for celebration. As in previous years, there are a number of exceptional personal achievements.

With an A*/A percentage of 73.5% and 97% of all grades being C or higher, 50 of the 77 candidates recorded an average grade of greater than A. It is exciting to look forward to the future achievements at IB Diploma level of the class of 2016.

Of those 44 students attaining 8 A*s or more, Caitlin Ong and Connie Ko both received an A* in 10 subjects, while Samiksha Choudhury achieved an A* in all 11 of her exams, an amazing feat.

Victor Lim Tours Dulwich Colleges In Asia

Dulwich College Shanghai students and parents were treated to a performance from an amazing young pianist. Victor Lim is an upcoming, very gifted, pianist who is currently studying in one of Dulwich College’s partner Conservatoires; the Royal Northern College of Music. Being a Dulwich College London Alumni, Victor was keen to share his experience with other Dulwich College students.

On Monday, 1 September, Victor spent the day in the theatre taking master classes with the students and later put on the most outstanding performance playing classical pieces - Berg's, Piano Sonata Op.1 and Rachmaninov's, 13 Preludes Op.32. Victor started the evening playing Ravel, Ma Mere l'oye with Year 9 student, Ian Teh.

Dulwich College Singapore Opens With 884 Students

Dulwich College in Singapore opened its doors this term to the first wave of 884 students, who have enrolled at the College. The start of the term has been staggered over five days to ensure a smooth and untroubled start for students and parents. With the opening of Singapore, there are now seven Colleges in the Dulwich College International network.

The teaching staff is predominately British and supported by qualified assistant teachers many of whom are bilingual in English and Chinese. Roughly a third of the teachers have come from within the Dulwich network of schools, including Dulwich London, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai and Suzhou.