Creative Journeys: Taking a Bow with the Rohan Family

The continued emphasis on expression, connection, and skills mastery within the arts at ISZL has helped each student nurture the passion they recognise in themselves today. While students at the end of their school journey benefit from hindsight as they reflect on where their love of the arts began, their artistic growth consistently points to three key influences

• The high-quality facilities and opportunities at ISZL
• The breadth and depth of exposure they experienced
• The dedicated guidance and encouragement from their teachers

The Kraus, Rohan, and Sibarium families reflect on the unique elements that shaped their children’s creative journeys — building confidence, encouraging risk-taking, and encouraging a strong sense of personal agency.

By Gráinne McFadden-Rohan and Brian Rohan, IZL Parents

Growing up in Ireland, participation in the arts and music were important parts of our family environments. Since moving to Switzerland in 2009, our two boys, Lúcás (Grade 11) and Cillian (Grade 10), have been students at ISZL, so the opportunities provided by the school in these cultural aspects have been a significant and memorable part of their personal growth, and not least, a great deal of fun.

Without question, you want to ensure your children benefit from a holistic educational milieu that is emotionally nurturing as well as academically motivating, where they can also test out and enhance their abilities across a wide range of skills. ISZL’s location here in central Switzerland gives access to an excellent variety of sports and social events that our children have taken advantage of, such as winter sports in Wengen, the Youth Forum Switzerland and service learning.

But it has been particularly in the areas of drama and music that the boys have engaged with enthusiasm, encouraged by amazing teachers and mentors as well as the rich infrastructure the school provides, and these are some of the highlights we will always remember from their schooldays. As all of us remember from our own time in the footlights, the friendships made during long rehearsals, through nervous opening nights and onto the euphoria of successfully bringing it all together in front of a live and entertained audience, are strong and lasting.

Here are some of their recollections over the past few years. For us, it was worth everything to see the two boys taking a bow together, surrounded by talented singers, actors, stage crew and staff, and embracing on stage after this year’s performance of The Great Gatsby.

By Cillian Rohan, Grade 10

When I was nine years old, I decided it might be fun to join the Grade 4 and 5 production of Frankie and Me. I was given an ensemble role, but even then I felt the rush of going on stage and the beauty of applause. The next year I decided to work on my acting and get a bigger role. Thanks to the insightful help from teacher Mrs Lesley Armstrong I had the amazing experience of playing the antagonist in The Lemonade Kid. The feeling of being on stage, and being in character was one of the greatest excitements I have had in my life.

I was nervous going into Grade 9. However, after my role in The Little Shop of Horrors, I felt as though I unlocked my true confidence. I connected my passion for singing, dancing and acting all in one. I am so glad to be part of a school with such an amazing arts programme, full of opportunities.

I would love in the future to have some involvement with the theatre, as being on stage gives me so much joy and I never want to be without that feeling. ISZL allows students to unlock their talents and increase confidence through its multiple programmes and opportunities to develop one’s character.

By Lúcás Rohan, Grade 11

I remember hanging around the playground during break time in Grade 5 with a group of friends, banging our fists on the slide and clicking our fingers in an attempt to create some rhythm, a beat for us to sing over. As you can imagine, this did not produce incredible music, but the raw enthusiasm was there, and this was what drove us to begin using the music room during break time. I do not remember what we played, or even at which instruments I stationed myself, but I do still remember this excitement, where I felt as though I had really found something to do with myself, now and in the future.

A few years later in Grade 8 was when I began to find out why the arts are so important to me. I got the part of Danny in that year’s musical Grease and got the opportunity to act, sing and dance in front of crowds of hundreds of people. I started a band with some friends and was given the opportunity to play at events like ISZL’s International Day, again in front of hundreds. Being able to perform at events of that magnitude at the age of 14, to me, is a huge privilege, and gave me the confidence to pursue whatever I wanted to upon coming to the High School.

In the two and a half years I have been at the High School, I wrote my first of many songs, with the invaluable support of teacher Mr Michael Huber. Thanks to teachers Ms Maria Le Guen and Mr Ole Wasner, I have been able to perform on numerous occasions in a variety of arrangements, and now can professionally master my home recordings in the ISZL Media Studio. The High School Music Room was a dream when I first began using it two years ago, and it has only improved since then. I have also performed on stage at the High School, and through this, I have discovered I am often more at home on stage than anywhere else.

Discovering music and performance near the end of Primary School made me feel as though I had found a purpose, as cliché as that sounds. I feel incredibly lucky that I happened to be at ISZL when I made this discovery because ISZL gave me the resources and opportunity to pursue what I wanted to do and the confidence to continue to pursue this long after I graduate.