Dulwich College [Singapore]
Bukit Batok West Avenue 8
Singapore
658966
Welcome to Dulwich College [Singapore]
We are so excited to
be hosting the very
first MADD (Music Art
Dance and Drama)
carnival at Dulwich
College [Singapore].
Over the next few
pages, you will get a
flavour what’s in store
for you when you
arrive at our school.
There’s new people
to meet, new
practitioners to work
with and new skills to
learn.
We hope you have a
wonderful time!
1
Music
Rock Band
Lead by Polly Osborne from
Dulwich College Shanghai
Objectives
Students will work with both teachers and practitioners to develop their
performance skills. They will work on their ability to play together as a group their
stage presentation as well as focusing on individual instrumental technique. They
will develop an understanding about the style and the pieces themselves, how they
are composed and what they are written about . Students will be playing the
following pieces.
Mansun – Wide open space
A song about the loneliness of life as we transition through different stages. Being
all alone in different spaces and looking at the openness of it all. As Nietzsche said
“if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.".
Bruce Springsteen – Radio nowhere
"Radio Nowhere"'s lyrical themes address alienation and a desire for musical and
social connection that is lacking in the modern age. A driving rock anthem that calls
for a thousand guitars and pounding drums.
REM – Man on the moon
A song in parts about Andy Kaufman and in parts about moon landing conspiracies.
The song is full of pop culture references that fill our modern space such as Elvis,
Jerry Lawler and Monopoly.
Skills
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Instrumental technique
Stage presence and presentation
Equipment set up
Ensemble coordination
2
Music
Choir
Lead by Mary Giles from Dulwich
College Suzhou
One of the finale pieces of the carnival will be a large massed choir item,
featuring all 200 of our talented performers.
Objective
Students will work with their teachers and voice practitioners to extend their singing
technique and their musicianship skills. They will be preparing choral repertoire
based on the theme of Space to be performed at the MADD Concert. Workshops will
focus on interpretation, breathing technique, posture, vocal health and vowel
placements in to achieve a good choral blend through singing games and repertoire.
Students will work in sectionals in addition to full choir rehearsals. The Choir will also
be collaborating with the Orchestra & Band at the carnival.
Skills
• Perform extended choral music repertoire in 2, 3 or more parts with or without
instrumental accompaniment. • Respond to basic conducting gestures as they relate to style and
interpretation.
•
Vocal Technique: Demonstrate correct posture, breathing technique and vowel
placement for singing. Learn about vocal health
• Musicianship Training: learn to read complex rhythms, aural training, sightsinging and blending with rest of the choir
• Broaden musical knowledge by singing music from different cultures and
languages
3
Music
Orchestra
Lead by Nina Haynes from Dulwich College Beijing
Students will work with a range of teachers and external practitioners to develop
their orchestral playing and general musicianship. The repertoire for the orchestra
has been carefully chosen to fit into the theme of Space, and will be performed at
the gala concert of the MADD carnival. The students will spend time in different
types of rehearsal workshops; some rehearsals will be done in “sectionals” where
the students will work with a specialist practitioner (violin, cello, woodwind, brass
or percussion) and develop their instrumental techniques and intonation. The
other rehearsals will be done as a full orchestra, to advance the students’
understanding of performing as part of an ensemble, thinking about the balance
between the different instruments and following a conductor. This may be the first
opportunity some students have had to play as part of a full orchestra, that
involves all four instrument families (strings, brass, woodwind and percussion).
The orchestra will also be collaborating with the choir and rock band at the
carnival to give students the experience of performing a range of different musical
styles and genres.
Skills:
• Improve listening skills so that everyone is playing as one ensemble.
• Develop their musicianship skills by learning different parts and fitting them
with the rest of the orchestra.
• Instrumental skills: learn new parts with new rhythmic patterns, new notes
and new techniques.
• Demonstrate correct posture and attitude when performing in an ensemble.
4
Art
Lead by Maria Jenkins
Dulwich College [Singapore] SPACE
Transforming a space and the lack of gravity in space have been the areas of
focus in planning for this event.
The image on the left is of
an installation by Tom
Friedman called ‘Up in the
air’. He has used
everyday objects to
transform an empty space.
He has actually
meticulously made all of
the components of this
piece himself.
For MADD the plan is to use a mixture of found objects and handmade objects.
Claes Oldenburg makes large sculptures of everyday
objects, and two of the longer MADD sessions will be
devoted to making models of familiar objects using
modroc, which will then be painted with acrylics.
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Cornelia Parker’s exploding shed makes very effective use of light and shadow, and
we are hoping to incorporate projections and suspended lights into the MADD
installation.
Of course, these plans are very flexible, and much of what happens will be dictated by
the ideas and input of the participating students.
We have been given an empty classroom to work in, so on the final day of
MADD we will spend the time actually putting together the installation. The aim
is to make the objects look as though they have been flung into the air and
stopped mid-fall.
6
Dance
Lead by Mimi Munro Dulwich [Singapore]
Objective
For participants to understand form, line and space as it is expressed by music and that
movement can help tell a narrative. The participants will develop their basic movement skills
using material derived from “space” They will work together to create two performance
pieces around a set idea “going away, and coming home” and learn a piece of set
choreography.
Skills
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Movement in the space
Physicality within the space and planes of movement
Working unison, in pairs, in small groups (up to five) and individually
Getting on and off the floor
Developing sequential memory by learning set choreography
Following piano
Expressing the energy/direction of a phrase
Developing styles of movement reflective of the music
Perceiving smaller motifs in larger forms and developing precise choreography to show
these
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Sample Exercises (Creative Movement)
• Move an ostinato phrase with different parts of the body
• Follow the piano, the class then form shape at a signal (straight line, straight row, diagonal line,
triangle etc.)
• Work in pairs - use each other’s body weight to help move on and off the floor
• Movement with an object - the teacher plays a phrase and the participants move the objects to
reflect the music
Performance pieces
• Set choreography to Monuments of Mars by Terry Callier
• Vocal Bruitage using the following poem by Walt Whitman
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself
In the mystical moist night - air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
• Creative movement piece using Hungry Face by Mogwai - from the series Les Revenants
The following quote by Terry Pratchett from “Hat Full Of Sky” will direct the theme/style of the piece.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from
with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where
you started is not the same as never leaving.”
8
Drama
Lead By Jake Eades
Dulwich Shanghai
Objectives
Students will work with both teachers and practitioners to develop their skills
in drama and broaden their knowledge of theater. They will take part in a
range of workshops in masked theater, physical theater, devised theater and
character creation. From these workshops they will break down into groups
and create their own pieces of theater that they will present at the finale of
the festival.
Skills
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Mime and movement
Character creation
Working with character archetypes
Devising theater
Staging
Group work
Writing for theater
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