COBIS Music Festival 2024 by Mr Tom
Two students from Secondary school have made history by becoming the first competitors from Nadeen School to participate in the COBIS Music Festival 2024. Over the last few months, Laya (Year 7) and Ben (Year 9) have been preparing themselves and their pieces by performing every week during morning drop-off. This allowed them to experience performing in front of a live audience, ensuring the nerves had long gone before the competition.
“We are surrounded by some very talented musicians! I feel privileged to be a part of this competition.“
– by Laya, Year 7
The competition started with the qualifying rounds, where over one-hundred children, from schools within and outside of Bahrain, performed as soloists and within ensembles in an effort to reach the final round. Sitting in front of them as they performed were three expert judges, who were not only listening for how well they interpreted the music, but were also looking for how well they engaged with the audience. While performing their chosen pieces from memory, both Ben and Laya were able to captivate the audience with their playing, drawing them in by looking out into the audience as they played.
In between the musical performances, there were many opportunities to meet and share their musical journeys with musicians from other schools. They also had the amazing experience of visiting the Bahrain International Circuit, where they were taken on a tour of the race track, viewing stands, pit lanes and viewing tower. In between all of this excitement, the children also had plenty of time to relax and catch up with their new friends.
After the qualifying rounds, the judges had to make the difficult decision of which performances had qualified for the final rounds. The judges commended Laya on such a controlled and well-paced performance of Chopin’s ‘Minute Waltz’ on the piano. They also praised Ben on his entertaining performance of the ‘Leckmicha Marsch’ on the accordion, and decided that it was a performance worthy enough to proceed into the finals. After another high-class performance from within the ballroom of the InterContinental Regency Hotel, it was announced that Ben won the Solo Instrumental (Classical) category, going up against two other incredibly talented musicians. We would of course like to congratulate both Laya and Ben for taking part in such an esteemed event, and would like to praise their confident performances and stage presence as well as their sense of honour as they supported each other and other children’s performances throughout the competition.
“I felt very proud when I was announced as a winner. Since the event, a lot of people have been approaching me asking if I’m the guy with the accordion.“
– by Ben, Year 9
