On March 28, Strings and Orchestra Director Julia Kim shared the results of 34 SIS students’ submissions to the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS) 2022 Online Solo and Ensemble Festival. This year, 1000 students from 46 schools participated in the festival’s 750 events, and 150 adjudicators judged each students’ performances. 

“SIS has participated in AMIS for the past several years and is one of the top [school] amongst other international schools,” Ms. Kim said. “We are very proud of all our musicians and are especially proud of those that made the effort to learn a solo or ensemble work for this festival.” 

The judges ranked each submission into three categories: I+ (highest/superior), I (excellent), or II+ (good). The majority of SIS students came out on top, with 23 students receiving I+, 10 receiving I, and one receiving II+. 

“I am glad my hard work has paid off,” Jin Wook Shin (11), AMIS finalist, said. “Playing the oboe well has been one of the biggest challenges I faced during my high school career since I started it only two years ago. However, practicing consistently and getting feedback from Michael Ganus through our school’s band program has allowed me to improve my music skills. I hope to participate in this competition during my senior year too.” 

On top of this, nine highschoolers—John Kim (10), Paul Moon (10), Skylar Peck (11), Eric Choi (11), Lindsey Lim (10), Riona Kim (10), Minsik Shin (10), Jin Wook Shin (11), and Eric Kim (11)—advanced to the International Solo Finals. These finalists were among the few who had top performances in their respective categories. They will compete again for a second round in mid-April.