IN PERFECT HARMONY

The curtain comes up, the spotlights hit the stage and the actors take their places. So far, so ordinary. But this is no run-of-the-mill performance: it’s 2022, and after two years of Covid-19 restrictions, this version of The Theory of Relativity, performed in ZIS’s largest theatre, will mark an emotional return to normality – a sign that the hills are alive with the sound of music once more.

ON FRENCH HORN

Huw (Class of 2026) and Noe (Class of 2026)

Huw is fascinated by late romantic pieces like H. Neuling's Bagatelle, while Noe's favourite solo is Tastes Like Chicken by Kris Berg.

“The Theory of Relativity is a really small, unknown, one-act musical, but I just love it,” says music teacher Tracy Sons, who remembers feeling “choked up” as the opening act unfolded. “We had a small cast, with 14 students and a live orchestra. We had had to persevere through so many things. We had cancellations and we couldn’t sing, and we had to wear masks, and then finally we were allowed to perform live. It was so exciting to come through this difficult situation and still be able to impact an audience and create a deep emotional response.”

It’s a rallying cry for an activity that has traditionally been a central part of school life. “Choir died under my watch, so I felt like it was my responsibility to get it back,” says Dr Clint Haycraft, a music teacher at ZIS since 2020. “We’re finally running it as a class again. It’s very small, but everyone there is in it to win it. There’s something about singing together that just contributes to the greater good, and I wanted that for the students.”

Today, music at ZIS is going from strength to strength, with an established curricular programme at every stage, alongside an array of extracurricular options. Students take a general music curriculum through Grade 3, involving everything from singing to ukeleles. The idea is to develop an understanding of rhythm, melody and other foundations that will support them in their future music studies. Through Grades 4 and 5, and at least one semester of Grade 6, they study either band, strings or choral. After that, music becomes elective – although many students, says Tracy, choose to continue. Once they reach the higher grades, they can also study composition.

And that’s just the curricular stuff. Outside the timetable, students play in the Lions Jazz Club and the Lions Rock Club – after-school clubs that meet once a week and play regular lunchtime concerts. “This year, we did our first classic album,” notes Clint. “We performed Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety.”

Kieran Naoura, Class of 2025 (2011-25), was one of the first members of the Lions Rock Club. Although he is first and foremost a trumpet player – now studying classical trumpet in Rotterdam – he relished the opportunity to turn his hand to other instruments, including keyboard and bass guitar. “Dr Haycraft is a rock instrumentalist himself and did that professionally for a while,” says Kieran. “So it was really cool to get that perspective and feel like you were playing in an actual band.”

Two highlights of the musical calendar are Bands Together and String Fling, which bring the Grade 6 to 12 students together to showcase their skills. As Tracy says: "These concerts have impacted hundreds of alumni and their families over the years, and parents often say they are their favourite event.”

ON FLUTE

Freja (Grade 11) and Joy (Grade 11)

Freja enjoyed playing Romeo and Juliet with the SGIS Symphony this year, while Joy's favourite piece is Concertino in D major, Opus 107.

Then there are the musicals, a treasured feature of school life. “My first experience at ZIS was to play in the pit band for Grease,” recalls Clint. “I played guitar and Tracy was conducting. It was just a blast, and that was my first taste of the music culture here.”

Based on his experience at other international schools, Clint thinks the pit band is unusual – most schools, he says, simply use a backing track. And it’s certainly a draw for the students who get involved.

Rose Churchill, Class of 2025 (2023-25), is an accomplished classical pianist who is now studying piano and physics at the University of Colorado. She has fond memories of playing keyboards in an especially spooky production. “I came to ZIS in Grade 11, which is pretty late, but it would have been a much harder transition without the music,” she explains.

“Before I even came to the campus, Ms Sons emailed me and asked if I wanted to be in the pit for The Addams Family. I’d never played in pit before, so it was a really interesting experience doing the keyboard.”

Clint admits the musicals are a labour of love, but wouldn’t have it any other way. “We all say ‘never again’ after they’re done, because it’s so much work. But then, of course, we do it again because they’re such a source of joy for the students and for ourselves.”

One of the best parts of his job, he says, is watching the more introverted students start to blossom. Many of them start out wracked with nerves and scared to perform. But after they’ve been on stage a few times, they walk through the school halls with a little more swagger. “For certain students, the rock band is their vehicle for becoming a celebrity among their peers,” he says.

Huw Sellars, Class of 2026 (2022-26), plays French horn in several ZIS musical ensembles, including the Lions Jazz Band, and says he feels exhilarated every time he plays.
His confidence has soared since his first time playing with the jazz band in Grade 10. “Back then, I was so self-conscious about my improvisation I’d stop playing mid solo,” he recalls. “But now I feel much more confident because of these music programmes, and the many opportunities I’ve had at ZIS to practise and improve my skills.”

ON VIOLIN AND CELLO

Su Yeon (Grade 10) and Ihita (Grade 9)

Su Yeon has been working hard on Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, and Ihita loves to play Vivaldi's baroque masterpiece Violin Concerto in A minor.

For those students who really take to music, there is the opportunity to audition for the prestigious AMIS (Association of Music in International Schools) Festival. Kieran describes the auditioning process as this “huge, really vulnerable thing”, where students prepare two pieces and work on them all summer. He recalls getting the email to say he had a place, and screaming with excitement.

“It was so cool to feel like a part of something bigger than yourself through music,” he says. “You get the perks of being an international school student and seeing these people from all over the world. I have done AMIS stuff every year since then and I still wish I could recreate how amazing that first band conference was for me in Grade 6.”

As for the students who don’t see themselves as musically inclined, Clint is keen to dispel myths about musicality and help them play to their strengths. “You hear things like ‘I’m tone deaf’ or ‘I can’t sing’, but anybody who can form a sentence can sing, because we all have these melodies in our speech,” he points out. “Part of my job is just to invite the students to figure out what they’re good at and make the most of that.”

Tracy notes that, in some ways, learning music provides a unique challenge. “Music is one of the few classes left where kids really just have to produce something themselves,” she says. “They don’t have a computer to look things up. They can’t ask AI. It’s just you and your instrument, you and your voice, and you have to practise and slow down and learn.”

This process is often laborious – and tends to push students out of their comfort zones, she says. There can also be frustrations associated with finessing a new skill; shyness and stage fright to overcome when performing in front of peers. But the rewards are there for all to see – and hear.

“As uncomfortable as they are, these experiences are very important,” says Clint. “Most students are not going to go on to become professional musicians, but the act of performing and taking that risk and becoming vulnerable, that’s a transferable skill. We’re teaching them life skills through music.”

So whether it’s a Wädenswil Campus student performing in the Singing Christmas Tree at Werdmühleplatz, a Grade 7 student discovering their passion for their chosen instrument, or a senior student wowing their peers in Battle of the Bands, music is about making memories for life. “Sometimes former students connect years later and talk about all the wonderful and inspiring experiences they had at ZIS in music,” recalls Tracy. “Whether they’re playing or not playing at that point, that nostalgia is really special.”