YCIS Shanghai’s students, teachers, and staff were honoured this past weekend to host the annual YCIS Seeds of Hope Gala Concert for the first time in Shanghai, which played before a packed audience at the Daning Theatre.

The concert is an annual tradition for the network of YCIS schools, which come together once a year to support the school’s charity, called Seeds of Hope, which was formed in 2008 in response to the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province. The funds raised by the concert, and other Seeds of Hope initiatives, are used to build or remodel a Seeds of Hope School every year in a region in which YCIS has a school.

In addition to the fundraising efforts, the annual concert yields many benefits for the students who participate. The concert highlights the talents of students from all YCIS campuses worldwide, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Chongqing, and Silicon Valley, US, and provides a platform for the students to showcase the skills they have learnt. Additionally, by bringing students together from YCIS campuses worldwide to perform as a group, “Friendships are formed, and the students gain a great deal from the opportunity to share music together,” said Ms Sally Davis, Head of Performing Arts at YCIS Shanghai Gubei Campus. Davis also explained that the annual concert offers students the valuable experience of setting a performance goal, directing their focus and preparation throughout the year. According to Ms Davis, “The annual Gala Concert is evidence of the dedication and talent of our students. Our students truly rose to the occasion this year and performed with enthusiasm – clearly reflecting the hours of hard work they put in at rehearsals.”

Altogether, the concert featured more than 370 performers from all of the YCIS schools, and demonstrated the depth of talent from every campus. Performers included the Gubei Campus Chamber Choir, YCIS Shanghai Regency Park Campus Do-Rei-Mi Choir, a rock band, a piano soloist, a Chinese dance group from YCIS Shanghai Hongqiao Campus, and The International Orchestra, which is comprised of students, faculty, and parents from all YCIS schools globally.

The YCIS community showed their support by raising a combined total of more than RMB 160,000 yuan, which will be donated to provide a three-story building for the next Seeds of Hope School, Xiuning County Weiqiao Elementary and Primary School, in Anhui Province.

The fundraising efforts of the YCIS community will benefit students at the new Seeds of Hope School for many years to come. For students at YCIS, having the shared experience of supporting Seeds of Hope Schools through each annual concert helps them use their talents to be able to help others in a meaningful way.

For more information about YCIS’ Seeds of Hope charity, please click here. (http://www.ycis-sh.com/en/enrichment-programmes/special-charity-seeds-of-hope)