CIS history was made on Monday 13 December, as CIS students from the secondary school gathered in the Lakeside atrium to sing a simple Christmas song African Noel. What was so significant about this presentation?

First, for four consecutive semesters, Covid-19 has shut down the performing arts across the world, across the island and across CIS. There has been no singing, no choirs, no performances and no vocal training. But on Monday, the silence was replaced with live voices for the first time in three academic years. It was exciting and a joy to behold!

Second, never in CIS’ 30 years of history have we seen a choir in our secondary school of such proportion. In the old days at our Toh Tuck campus, we would often have 80 to 100 primary school children singing in the open-air gymnasium. But never in our history has our secondary school brought forward a choir of 50 singers and instrumentalists.

Under the direction of MYP/DP music teacher Ann Zellhoefer and MYP music teacher Jasmine Heath, our students were excited when presented with the opportunity to join a choir and sing again. Their enthusiasm was demonstrated in never-before seen numbers of interest and participation. When MOH and NAC protocols opened up, Ann and Jasmine acted quickly to capitalise on combining the joy of Christmas with the joy of singing for the first time in four semesters. Hearing the atrium full of vocal harmonies, instruments and vocal beauty was a moment of sheer inspiration and even a moment of tears for those who have longed to raise again their voices in song.

Congratulations to our newly formed senior choir and their inaugural presentation.

View the secondary choir performance here*.