Our Secondary Choir in Full Voice during Term 1

The BIS Hanoi Secondary Choir has had a fantastic start to the year, which has also seen the group grow to over 50 members of students and staff.

On October 8th, the choir excelled in their first performance of the year at the International Festival, before undertaking two special performances to mark Remembrance Day on November 11th .

The first Remembrance Day performance took place on the day itself at the Remembrance Assembly hosted by the school Humanities department. For the second performance, our choir travelled to Cua Bac Church in downtown Hanoi, where they took part in a service hosted by the British Embassy and Commonwealth missions in Hanoi.

To mark the return of these events after the pandemic, the choir performed the traditional American Shaker song ‘Simple Gifts’, which features lyrics centred around returning to a starting point, as well as the principles of simplicity and humility.

The second piece performed at each event was a new composition by our choir director Mr. Scott, entitled ‘As the Stars’, which featured as its text the final stanza of Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’. Mr. Scott was also busy on both occasions as a trumpet player, performing ‘The Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’ during the act of remembrance.

During their performance at the church, the choir was exceptional both in their representation of the school and their musicality. They delivered their best performance at precisely the right time, drawing comments of praise and delight from the dignitaries in attendance. We wish to thank all the parents who attended these performances and gave their time to transport students to the event. We hope to see you again at our upcoming performances throughout this year!

Our Secondary Choir is also seeking new students to join us for the rest of the year. Our weekly rehearsals take place on Tuesday lunchtime and the choir extends a warm welcome to new members at whichever point in the school year they wish to join us.

Jonathan Scott Music Teacher