October 13, 2016

Pied Piper a Delight

At the end of last term, the primary school brought to life the classic folk tale The Pied Piper of Hamlyn in musical form. The children played to a packed Vijayadev Yogendra Auditorium two nights running and performed beautifully. The musical was extra-special for many reasons, not the least that every primary school student was involved, from the shyest Preppie to the most extroverted Year 6 student, and happily so.

While some teachers took a lead in direction, all the teachers were involved in helping the children practice and preparing them for the performance in a relaxed and fun way. It was a real team effort.

This was one of the benefits of having the musical scored and written by our own Michael Funder as he structured it to allow the grade teachers to practice with their children as part of the usual day’s activities, without having to get together for a whole of school rehearsal to do so.

This was probably best expressed by our highly respected former art and drama teacher Neil Rasmussen who wrote in a letter of thanks:

“Michael [Funder] really has to be congratulated for this initiative, because of the advantage of writing original material for this age group. The script gave excellent opportunities for some students to be extended whilst it enabled others to have their “moment” tailored to their ability. The issues raised were readily comprehensible to the age group and appropriate to the values to which the school subscribes. It was also delightful to have a live orchestra playing original music, but we know only too well, all the effort, direction and organization that goes into making something like this a success.”