International Schools Choral Music Society

The International Schools Choral Music Society, or ISCMS, is an International association of music educators and students. ISCMS was set up in 2007, by Shane O’Shea the Head of Music at Dulwich College Beijing, to address the dire need to bring Western Choral music to International students in this region. For our music students to develop and grow it is necessary to offer them the same opportunities they would receive if they studied in their home countries. The founders, Dulwich College Beijing, contacted the Professor of Music at Trinity College, Dublin, Dr. Martin Adams, and discussed the setting up of such a group. With his help and encouragement ISCMS was formed. Apart from offering our students a chance to study and perform Western Choral music, we offer them a unique chance to study under the world’s top musicians in areas that are related to the IB music set works, and the IB music course in general. Dr. Martin Adams is one of the world’s premier scholars in the music of Henry Purcell. As part of our commitment to education Dr. Adams offers a symposium on Purcell and his music, with a special emphasis on Dido and Aeneas, the current IB set work.

We started with four key member schools. They were Xiamen International School, British School Jakarta, South Island School Hong Kong and of course Dulwich College Beijing. These schools still form the core of the group and continue to drive the operation forward. The first Festival, February 2008, was held in Dulwich College Beijing, a performance of the Fauré Requiem. The second Festival, February 2009, was held in South Island School Hong Kong, a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria.

ISCMS has expanded to include schools from Japan, Philippines, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan. We continue to push the boundaries of expectation and desire in all we do, as we strive to stretch our students’ minds and musicianship. We have evolved to include practitioners from Northwestern University, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and our valued and trusted friends from Trinity College Dublin. The IB set works have changed, so too have we. We offer symposiums in the new set works, Mozart’s Symphony 41 and Copland’s El Salón México, and have included them in the program to be performed in the Gala Concert. This expansion also includes the venues we use. We have the honor of performing in China’s number one auditorium, The Forbidden City Concert Hall. All this combines to show the remarkable progress made in just over two years to make ISCMS the number one music society of its kind in this region, if not the world.

ISCMS will continue to develop and grow over the next 3 years. It is envisaged that membership will be limited to 20 International schools from around the world. These 20 schools will form the core of the group and direct its future path. The philosophy of music and education will remain and continue to be at the centre of all we do. We will develop more links with music colleges, universities and conservatoires. We will invite more practitioners from these areas to our Festivals and set up opportunities for our students to gain entry into top class university or conservatoire music courses around the world. We will design, develop and implement a constitution and elect members onto a board every year during our annual Professional Development weekend for music teachers from member schools. We will set up an annual Choral Competition whilst continuing to share music resources throughout the network. We will set up host schools for the annual Festival for the next 5 years. These areas combine to form the foundation of what is already the most professional, progressive and innovative music network in this region.