Torch - Fall 2014

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| FALL 2014 • TORCH 11
encourage students to embrace the learning
experience without fear of failure and
prepare them for real life.
Whereas students in the visual arts focus on
producing work that people can “see,” our
music students focus on producing work that
appeals to a different sense. Not a day goes by
without music being performed, practiced
and heard at Havergal. Whether it’s the entire
Upper School singing a House hymn in the
Brenda Robson Hall during Prayers or the
percussive sounds from the piano, drums
and tympani drifting from the Band room
into the halls of the school, this community
embraces music and the joy it brings. And it’s
no wonder. Our Music department aims to
instill a lifelong love of music in students at all
grades and our students are able to enjoy its
power, both as performers and as listeners.
Havergal has general music and vocal,
band and strings programs from
Kindergarten through to Grade 12, and
our students are encouraged and coached
to perform in Music Nights and other
special performances, as well as in Prayers,
throughout the year. Students also have the
opportunity to perform in concerts and
festivals in world-class acoustic venues, such
as Koerner Hall. Our music students have,
over many decades, had the opportunity
to perform in various locations around the
world as part of our excursion program, and
in so doing, they have come to understand
the power of music to transcend language,
culture and politics. Music always plays an
important role at special events like Carol
Service and Founders’ Day, and our students
are at the centre of these school traditions.
The dramatic arts program helps students
to understand the importance of belonging
to an ensemble—to see themselves as
part of something bigger—and to work
collaboratively (both on- and off-stage)
with students and adults in the production
of a play or musical. Learning to accept
constructive feedback helps girls metabolize
the sting of criticism in ways that build their
resilience and resolve, while improving their
artistic discipline. In addition, the rehearsal
process provides students with the safety net
required to build relationships with peers
that are grounded in trust, compassion
and shared responsibility. And for those
girls interested in pursuing dance there are
opportunities in both the Junior and Upper
Schools in ballet, non-auditioned clubs and
the auditioned Dance Troupe.