2025 Fine Arts Festival

The 2025 Fine Arts Festival took place this past weekend in Tianjin, showcasing the exceptional talents of the high school choir, band, art, and drama departments from our LifePlus schools across China. The festival has provided hundreds of students with the
opportunity to experience music-making on a grand scale under the direction of professional, highly qualified conductors from around the world.

2003 - The Fine Arts Festival began as a choral festival for iSC (now LifePlus) schools.
2013 - Bands made their debut, and it became a choral and band festival, celebrating music in both genres of vocal and symphonic band performance.
2014 - iSC art teachers brought students' work to Tianjin International School to display in a system-wide art show. Judges critiqued and scored the artwork, and festival organizers featured the winning pieces at the festival.
2016 - iSC art teachers expanded the exhibition to include art workshops.
2025 - This year, guest conductors Dr. Alan Mills and Dr. Adam Potter and talented artists Alli Pang and Amber McTaggart led the event.

Band
Dr Alan W. Mills was this year's guest conductor, a freelance conductor in demand in the US, Europe, and Asia as a clinician and music adjudicator. He obtained a doctorate in philosophy in music education with an emphasis on instrumental conducting at Florida State University.

Dr. Mills was so impressed with the band's preparedness that he asked us to sight-read a new piece during our 2nd rehearsal. We ended up opening the concert with that piece: "Fanfare Hayabusa." Hayabusa was a space probe that had to overcome multitudes of difficulties on its 7-year mission. Similarly, the band had to overcome the music challenges, the time crunch of just 2 days, and their own fears of imperfection to perform it at the concert.
–Ms. Hoekman, CDIS Band Director

Choir
The theme of the choral music was "I Hear Music in the Air," a celebration of music's profound presence in our lives—its ability to awaken, uplift, heal, and inspire. Led by Dr Adam Potter, the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York. The performance followed a journey through transformative moments, tracing an emotional arc that reflects how music shapes our existence.

Art
Congratulations to Laura for receiving first place in the art show! We’re so proud of you!

Art students took a day trip to Beijing to visit the 798 Art Zone. They explored the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (尤伦斯当代艺术中心) and the Meet You Museum (遇见博物馆) to view the Ancient Egyptian Cultural Relics Exhibition.

Alli Pang, an esteemed artist focused on eco-printing and natural dyes, led workshops for students to create their own dyes.

Drama
Amber McTaggart directed this year's drama performance, Fast Food, by Tracy Wells.

Top caliber student musicianship and exemplary music instruction from quest conductors have made the Fine Arts Festival performance one of Tianjin's most elite musical events of the year. We celebrate music, art, and performing arts in all LifePlus schools, knowing that this past weekend has inspired creativity for days to come!