ALKHOBAR, 19 June 2005 — The International Programs School (IPS) Middle and High School held a festive evening for families to highlight the progress made in the school’s mandate to promote the development of education in the arts among its student body. The event was a celebration of culture, combining poetry, music and the visual arts.
“We follow an American curriculum at IPS. Many of our students hold American passports but their heritage is Middle Eastern. We also have a mix of students from Canada, South Africa and Australia,” said Hendrik Taatgen, Middle and High School Principal, IPS. “For the majority of our students this year was their first opportunity to take both art and music as part of their weekly studies. It has been a joy to watch their talents blossom under the guidance of our experienced teachers.”
While most of the school’s faculty hails from North America, the art teacher is from Egypt. Suzan Hamuda has had years of experience working with beginning artists, most recently at the House of Artists in Jeddah. She was excited to join IPS this academic year because the school expressed an interest to see the students work with a wide variety of media. This was in order to allow these beginners the greatest opportunity to find satisfaction in their creation of art.
“Over the course of the year we enabled the students to try oils, acrylics, pastels, pencils — really so many different media. I also taught them art history and basic techniques, such as perspective and lighting. The walls tonight reflect the enormous range of their interests. Art is personal and no one student will perceive the subject the same as another, so we have endeavored to help them reflect their personalities in their work,” Hamuda explained.
The partitions set up for the exhibition bore evidence of her claims. Penciled architectural views competed for attention with vibrant seascapes. Delicately drawn flower bouquets were complimented by stanzas of student created poetry. The students were proudly showing off their work to the guests, when suddenly there was an excited call for assembly and many of the teenagers rushed to take chairs.
What happened next had some parents misty-eyed. In unison, a group of total beginners looked to their leader and the band played. It wasn’t the New York Philharmonic, not even close, but the music was truly splendid.
“This is a beginning band,” said Chet Garber, IPS’ music teacher. “The instruments arrived in January and we have been teaching the students since then. About 30 percent of our students from Grades 6 though 10 participated. We allowed them to first try out the musical instruments under our supervision and they selected their favorites. Then we created the band.”
Garber gave the teens enormous credit for their willingness to learn and then eventually to put on the concert.
“The teens were very dedicated. They took lessons at school and practiced at home for hours each week,” the teacher remarked. “Then they had to conquer their nerves and play in public. That is a terribly difficult thing to ask of beginners, but they did well.”
The school made the investment to purchase the instruments, but the instrument stays with the student for the duration of the semester.
“Since the students don’t have to buy the instruments, they can try several different ones if they like, until they find the right fit,” Garber said. “It was thought that this was the best way to encourage the greatest number of students to take an interest in music.”
IPS has definitely struck the right chord with its students. Hisham Khesham, a Grade 9 student at the school, took lessons this semester in both art and music and described the experience as “great.”
Music and art are pleasures that can last long after school days are through. Giving these young people the chance to learn to enjoy a fine melody or a dramatic painting or even better to create beauty of their own, is more than education. It is empowerment to live life fully.
