Doha: British international school - Doha College - one of the oldest in the country, hosted the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), who played two performances of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf’ to all primary students and their teachers.
The performance, conducted by Giovanni Passini and narrated by Christoph “Kiko” Schmitz in a most dramatic and captivating manner, was the perfect vehicle for music education. The students, a very large proportion of whom are learning to play instruments, were a hugely receptive and appreciative audience. Some of them were even lucky enough to try their hand at conducting on stage and the exciting reaction on their faces was simply magical.
Conductor Giovanni Passini shared his thoughts on the experience: “Exposing children to live music of any kind is invaluable – being the same room where the sound is produced, creates a three-dimensional feel of the sound and its energy; the audience then becomes a protagonist of the performance. We explored the interactivity of the music and we loved the enthusiasm we got from the Doha College students.
Ryan Sullivan, Head of Primary Music at Doha College and an exceptional musician himself, thanked QPO for their performance. “Our students and staff had a wonderful day, and it was encouraging to see our fantastic facilities being put to use by a professional ensemble.”
