Demystifying Creativity through Grade 10 Music
By Ashima Thomas, UWCSEA Communications Team
9 July 2026
There is a common misconception that creativity relies solely on a sudden spark of divine inspiration, or that the arts are an exclusive club reserved only for inherently “arty” people. As UWCSEA students in the Grade 9 and 10 Music programme are discovering, this isn’t really true.
Eivind Lodemel, Head of High School Music at East Campus, explains: “Creativity has ‘method’ to it. And if you look at creative pursuits in all contexts—leadership, management, the technology sector for example—it’s not that you were ‘just inspired’ to do something, it’s that you’ve learned the frameworks and tools.”
Composing from the Blank Page
To teach the frameworks and tools, UWCSEA’s Music Department has purposefully integrated immersive, real-world experiences into the Grade 9 and 10 Music curriculum. For example, students at East Campus undertake an intensive eight-week project in which they arrange a piece of music for a professional string quartet to play live in class.
They start by choosing a piece of music they are passionate about, infusing their personality and creative style into the task right from the start.
One Grade 10 Music student, Link, chose ‘Shiveria Town’ from the video game ‘Super Mario Odyssey’, while his classmate Esha chose the indie-pop song, ‘As the World Caves In’ by Matt Maltese.
“The inspiration for the arrangement stemmed from the meaning behind the song, not only through the lyrics, but also the melody and rhythm,” said Esha.
Putting a Spin on Tradition
The students must draw on the 300-year-old chamber music format of the string quartet to create a live arrangement of their modern songs.
“It is a challenging task,” says Vera Boyadzhieva, an Instrumental Teaching Programme teacher and a regular volunteer for the string quartet. “The students must think about texture, balance, and the individual character of each instrument. They also need to be familiar with specific string techniques such as articulation, bowing styles, double stops, use of pizzicato, and range, in order to write music which is both expressive and playable.”
It’s a steep learning curve, especially for students who have never played a string instrument. Esha, who is a vocalist, composed her arrangement over several weeks.
“I have always focused on my vocals. However, I carried forward some principles … and while this seemed to work in my mind and sounded good on MuseScore (software), it did not work for the actual quartet,” she said. “This is where the teacher feedback I received during the project was extremely helpful.”
For Link, the challenge was finding the correct musical key. When he finally heard his arrangement played live, “It was like I had imagined it, but it sounded better in real life with the musicians right there,” he shared.
“The idea of having music that is going to be played by real people; there’s something great about that,” says Eivind. “It’s a different type of learning experience, and it sets our students apart.” He noted that, nowadays, composing relies heavily on digital platforms which can create arrangements that are physically impossible for humans to actually play.
Real-world Learning and Feedback
A defining part of the evaluation is observing how students handle on-the-spot feedback. After performing the piece for the class, the musicians ask questions about the arrangement. Each student composer must articulate their musical decisions with their peers listening in. This exercise is designed to be challenging, mimicking a real-world scenario, albeit in a supportive environment.
Hearing their work performed live allows them to experience how their imagination comes to life as music. This makes the process authentic and meaningful.”
Vera Boyadzhieva, Teacher, Instrumental Teaching Programme, UWCSEA East
“I approach each piece with curiosity and respect for the original composition and for the student’s creative ideas,” says Vera. “When I begin working on a piece, I try to fully understand the student’s idea. I carefully examine their writing, paying attention to their use of texture, harmony and instrument technique, and I note any areas that may need clarification or correction.”
“Hearing the piece I arranged played by the actual string quartet was surreal, especially for a song that has had a big role in my life,” says Esha. “While the feedback and experience were a little intimidating, it was extremely helpful and taught me a whole new area of music I had never been exposed to before.”
While only a handful of Grade 9 and 10 Music students may go on to pursue a musical pathway, they all benefit from gaining the tools to harness their creativity in any collaborative environment.
“You get to know the frameworks, the technical components, and gain the expertise,” says Eivind. “And when you bring it all together, that’s how you are creative.”
Vera Boyadzhieva, Teacher, Instrumental Teaching Programme, UWCSEA East teaches violin and other instruments.
Each student composer must articulate their musical decisions in front of their peers and in response to questions from professional musicians.
For Esha, being on the course has fuelled her aspirations to become a composer: “The versatility and creativity of this course is extremely rewarding and something I really appreciate. I have been able to take my singing to lengths I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to, like singing in Portuguese and recording a song in the stairwell! In the near future, I hope to take my passion for music forward by writing and releasing my own songs.”
The UWCSEA Grade 9/10 Programme is unique to our College. Learn more about the syllabus.
