Dean Jessome Music Dept We have had another banner year for choir registration, and on November 17th the Wheatley Senior Elite Choir were given an opportunity to bring their beautiful united voice outside the four walls of the school to perform for the May Court Club’s Tree Lighting Ceremony. Additionally, we are now in full Holiday music mode and very much looking forward to our concert assemblies on the evening of December 21st and the morning of the 22nd. Our theme for both Holiday concerts this year will be “The Gift of Love is in the Air”. It is so important during these unstable and tumultuous times to maintain a passion for optimism and unity through an understanding of our differences. This is where the true power of music can be found. What is it that makes music unique? It has the ability to immediately affect people. It can calm our fears and give us hope in the aftermath of traumatic events. Music can help us: forgive, calm our fears, and provide clarity of thought. It is no secret that music has the potential to change a mood, to shift an atmosphere, and to encourage a different behaviour. The average North American listens to approximately four hours of music each day. Just imagine what kind of an impact music is having on our emotions throughout the day, whether we are aware of it or not. History has demonstrated the importance of music in the aftermath of hardship. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the telethon "America: A Tribute to Heroes" was shown nationwide and featured, among other performances, Bruce Springsteen playing his new song “My City of Ruins” and Paul Simon singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Those that were witness to this concert have said “that it felt like therapy.” The growing number of tragedies such as the mass shootings in the U.S. are resonating throughout the world and will forever become a part of our global consciousness. We must remember that as musicians, no matter the scale or popularity, we are carriers of influence. The sound and messages we release through this spectacular art form flow through the air, wash over us, purge us from sorrow like a welcomed warm breeze on a cold winters eve. “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” ― Leonard Bernstein
Wheatley School Montessori and International Baccalaureate school