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The Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS)
Encyclopedia
The Association for Music in International Schools, best known as AMIS, is an organization that brings together students of schools worldwide who excel in musical achievements for days of music practice and then conclude with a concert.
, politically neutral organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence at all levels of music education
. Its objectives are to advance the education of school pupils and teachers throughout the world by developing their understanding, knowledge and appreciation of music; to advance the education of young people and their teachers in global issues and cultural diversity through the performance and study of music; to promote high standards of musical performance in school pupils of all ages and abilities throughout the world; to promote furtherance of educationally valuable music repertoire”
AMIS' member schools mainly lie in Europe and Asia, with some participants in Africa. Originally founded in London, AMIS slowly grew across Western Europe and now has many festivals reserved only for Asian schools. Festivals are conducted in English, though due to the participants coming from within international school populations, most students (and many teachers) speak multiple languages.
Honor Band) Prof. Jerry Luckhardt of the University of Minnesota.
, David Brunner, Dr. Richard Prior, Christopher Marshall, and more.
The name
Founders of AMIS named it so in purpose because of the French word amis, which means “friendship” because it’s one of the hopes of AMIS that friendship is gained during its festivals.Mission statement
“The Association is an international, non-profit, non-sectarianNonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
, politically neutral organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence at all levels of music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
. Its objectives are to advance the education of school pupils and teachers throughout the world by developing their understanding, knowledge and appreciation of music; to advance the education of young people and their teachers in global issues and cultural diversity through the performance and study of music; to promote high standards of musical performance in school pupils of all ages and abilities throughout the world; to promote furtherance of educationally valuable music repertoire”
How it works
Once a year, there’s a festival for each of the different categories. Each festival is "hosted" by an AMIS Membership, rotating between them yearly. To qualify for band, strings, and all High School auditions, students must audition by recordings, which are judged by a blind panel of music educators. Middle School Choir auditions are conducted by each participating school's teacher. The successful students travel to the host school and participate in the practice days and the final concert. The format is usually: travel Wednesday, rehearse Thursday-Saturday, concert Saturday evening, travel home Sunday.AMIS' member schools mainly lie in Europe and Asia, with some participants in Africa. Originally founded in London, AMIS slowly grew across Western Europe and now has many festivals reserved only for Asian schools. Festivals are conducted in English, though due to the participants coming from within international school populations, most students (and many teachers) speak multiple languages.
Conductors
AMIS selects a different conductor for each festival. Often, conductors are teachers in international schools who are well respected and recommended by their peers. In 2008, some of the conductors were (AMIS Honor Choir) conductor Dr. André Thomas, (AMIS Honor Band) Dr. Anthony Maiello, and (AMIS AMSHB / Asian Middle SchoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
Honor Band) Prof. Jerry Luckhardt of the University of Minnesota.
Music
The repertoire style depends on the AMIS festival and the songs that the conductor wants to play. Many times, AMIS has commissioned works by authors, making the band/choir present world-premiere songs. Such authors include Philip SparkePhilip Sparke
Philip Sparke is a British composer and musician. He is noted for his concert band and brass band music.- Music for Winds :* 1973/1976 Gaudium* 1975 The Prizewinners for Brass-Band* 1978/1995 Fantasy for Euphonium...
, David Brunner, Dr. Richard Prior, Christopher Marshall, and more.
AMIS festivals
AMIS presents eleven different yearly festivals focused on different music, instrumentation, and musicians. These are:- Honor Band and Choir
- Junior and Senior Honor Orchestra
- Honor Jazz BandJazz bandA jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
- Solo and Ensemble Festival
- European Middle School Honor Band
- Asian Middle School Honor Band
- Middle School Honor Mixed Choir
- Middle School Honor Girls’ Choir
- Middle School Honor Boys’ Choir
- Asian Middle School Honor Girls' Choir
- Asian Junior Honor Orchestra