Yew Chung 80th Anniversary Seeds of Hope Gala Concert, which played to a full house at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Jockey Club Auditorium on the evening of March 26, 2013, climaxed Yew Chung’s anniversary celebrations and gave a good show of the many talents of the school community.

Addressing the audience, Director Dr Betty Chan Po-king said that the concert spread the message of love and charity, making the celebration even more meaningful and memorable. “Yew Chung has witnessed the Power of Love in its gratifying evolution over the past eight decades. It is love which has guided Yew Chung to progress from strength to strength, and has connected all of its members along the way.”

Dr Chan announced that Yew Chung would build the fourth school in the rural part of China, which is the third Seeds of Hope School, since the birth of the charity concept to help local students after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. It will be a normal school in Guangdong for the Miao ethnic group to train secondary graduates to become teachers for the local children.

The event featured the top musicians and dancers from across Yew Chung International School (YCIS) campuses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, and Qingdao in China, and Silicon Valley in the US. Several students from YCIS Shanghai’s Century Park, Gubei, and Hongqiao Campuses participated as part of the orchestra and singing ensemble. Two students from the Gubei Campus, Isabelle, a Year 12 student, and Joanne, Year 11, were proud to be among the featured vocal soloists for the performance. After the performance, Isabelle commented, “Combining music and charity brought out the best in both the students and the teachers; the performance was really emotional for everyone involved – especially as the audience took part in supporting Seeds of Hope.”

Over 250 people from the YCIS Primary and Secondary sections, staff, and alumni gave stellar performances, presenting the finest musical event the school has ever staged, and aptly demonstrating the excellence of the schools’ unique music programme. Sharing the stage with so many talented people prompted Gladys, a Year 9 student at YCIS Shanghai, to say, “I really enjoyed the beautiful music we created together.”

Highlights of the concert included the YCIS International Orchestra, comprised of many of the schools’ top-level students and staff members, and the grand finals of “Allegro,” the 80th Anniversary YCIS network-wide music competition. Representing YCIS Shanghai’s Hongqiao Campus, Bobby, a Year 2 student, won first place in his age category. Kiana, a Year 5 student from YCIS Shanghai’s Gubei Campus, also won first place in her age category and earned the distinction of Outstanding Young Musician of YCIS.

The Head of Performing Arts at YCIS Shanghai Gubei Campus, Ms Sally Davis, praised the event: “Participating in the Seeds of Hope concert once again saw our Shanghai students contributing at the highest possible level. The students we take, with an age range from 9 to 17, are enthusiastic, attentive, and hardworking, engaging with students from our other YCIS schools, and embracing the entire experience.”

Music education has always been one of the key programmes at YCIS, based on the firm belief that music training at a young age enhances children’s spatial-temporal reasoning skills, leading to better mathematics performance, memory span, and intelligence development.

This milestone event united students from diverse backgrounds in musical and cultural harmony, and was fittingly wrapped up with the entire cast singing a song for the Seeds of Hope project that was specially composed by Gary Sanderson, Head of Music and Visual Arts Division. The four hours of extraordinary performances earned a standing ovation for the talented participants, and capped off another important YCIS tradition.