Throughout the years, I have significantly grown in my ability to creativity explore and communicate using music. I have grown to have a genuine passion in Music and have continuously been committed to performing inside of school, especially in the previous year.
As a child, I thoroughly explored playing the Drums and Piano over the course of 3 to 4 years, however my ability slowly diminished due to a lack of practice, even after taking part in a 'Rock and Pop' examination for Drums. Nonetheless, after selecting Music for the 'Arts' in my final two years of MYP, I found that I began to develop an interest in an instrument that I have never experienced before, singing. At the start of Year 10, I was eager to explore new forms of expression, yet I was anxious and lacked confidence in all aspects of my ability. After being comforted by the feedback of peers, emphasizing that my ability was 'not bad' for someone who has never learnt nor sang before, I pushed myself through and persevered as we practiced for our first performance as part of the Year 10 course. After countless hours of practice and self initiative to practice outside of school hours, I eventually became increasingly confident with my ability to perform the Beatles remix that we creatively explored. Finally, the day of my first official performance, and despite my tremendous nervousness even to a smaller audience of 50 people, I remained persistent till the very end of the performance and was greeted by the numerous compliments from my peers and teachers
Link to Beatles Performance: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3AdTGnyI3l2czkzbHNzT3NTTmc
From this point onwards, I significantly developed my confidence in performing and was slowly introduced to more opportunities, inclusive of creating an original song that adressed the SGD goal of poverty through the use of lyrics and various musical devices. As I made my way into Year 11, and have seen tremendous growth in my skills, the year began as Ms. Olsen, emailed a group of players to perform in the NIST 25th Anniversary assembly, that would be in front of the entire school, inclusive of all staff and students ranging from Early Years to Year 13. Although I was very hesitant at first due to lack of confidence, we were later able to recognize the sheer importance of the event and the appreciable opportunity given. Fast forward 1 month and we were all standing in front of the entire school, ready to perform 'Somewhere only we Know' for the NIST 25th Anniversary assembly. This was a monumental increase from the 'typical audience' of around 50 students that we were used to up until an audience of over 1300 individuals that we performed to. Nonetheless, we were extremely proud of what we did, as this marked the very first performance of our band that we continuously played with throughout the year in any opportunity given.
Subsequently, whether as part of this band, in a choir or in another band, I was consistently involved in various performances throughout the year that allowed me to creatively explore and communicate my ideas. Music slowly grew to become an important aspect of who I am as a person. I would have never imagined at the start of Year 10, that attempting to sing would involve me in over 10 performances throughout Year 11, significantly increase my confidence and have singing become a genuine passion that we, as a band would find any available time to play music together, purely as a passion.
The following are the main performances I have been involved in
-NIST Beatles Musical Performance.
-NIST IDU awareness of SGD Goals Musical Performance.
-NIST 25th Anniversary Assembly, Musical Performance.
-PINKTOBER Awareness, Musical Performance.
-Global Goals World Cup Bangkok, Musical Performance.
-International Women's Day Musical Performance.
-NIST 25th Anniversary (1) Jazz Performance, (2) Choir Performances
-MYP Completion Ceremony (2) Performance(s)
-2018 End of Year Assembly Performance
As evident, I have been able to creatively explore and communicate my ideas in a way that has served to be a personal passion through sustained participation throughout year 10 and 11 and now find myself singing whenever I have the opportunity, whether in the music rooms, in a choir, with my friends, or even in the shower. In addition to my personal development, I have also utilized this as a platform to express positive change, creating an original song that promoted the SDG goal of ending poverty, performing songs that recognized woman's rights during Pinktober and International Woman's day, as well as performing in important events such as the Global Goals World Cup, that focused on promoting positive change.
Overall, although I in no way consider my ability in singing proficient, I am rather proud of my development in my confidence, as I continue to pursue my passion and express myself creativity. As this is something I was lacking before taking these opportunities that facilitated significant personal growth
