Do You Like To Play The Drums?

By Joshua Emmanuel

The Primary Arts Carnival (PAC) was hosted at Dalat on the 13th of May and was organized by Ms. Joyce Goh. The theme for this event was “We are One” and was upheld through the songs that were sung in the mass chorals and displayed through the enthusiastic participation of all the schools.  There were 5 schools that participated in the event, Dalat, POWIIS, Uplands, Tenby, and SCIPS. 

The event began with a drum circle of all 165 students playing a drum or a percussion instrument. The name of the piece was “Do you like to play the drums?” and it was directed by guest conductor John Hagedorn, a certified drum facilitator. 

Mr. Craig Roylance, who ran sound for the event, had a decibel meter app on his phone showing that the sound levels inside Harbor Hall; the sound level had increased to 115dB during the drum circle. After the drum circle, there was a mass choral in which all the schools participated and sang "Sisi Nimoja" written by Jacob Narverud. This was followed by individual school performances beginning with Dalat followed by POWIIS, then Uplands, Tenby, and ending with SCIPS. 

Adam Lim, a current senior at Dalat, was in charge of the light programming for the event. He said, “PAC was a fun experience that tested our technical knowledge and was a fun energizer with so many energetic kids and drums; I love to play the drums!!” Mr. Kanagaraj, who also helped out with the event and assisted Adam said, “Do you like to play the drums?” to anyone who walked into the sound booth, while Mr. Roylance said, “Ear protection is my friend” whenever the children started to play the drums. 

The event ended with another mass choral where all of the schools participated as well as some of the high school choir members. They sang “One Moment, One People” written by Beccy Owen for the Sing up day in 2019. Both the mass choral songs helped reaffirm the theme of “We are One” by including several schools and singing songs about unity and making positive connections with others.

In an interview with Ms. Goh after the event she said, “We truly witnessed the unwavering dedication and contagious energy of the young performer[s] as they strive to reach excellence in their performance.”