by Caroline Crosson Gilpin

On February 20, 2025, more than 140 students from Dwight’s eight campuses around the world took to the stage at New York City’s Lincoln Center to celebrate 25 years of Dwight Schools musical collaboration and concerts.

More than 700 in attendance gathered at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, to witness the stunning display of musical talent. The audience included families and friends of students from Dwight New York, London, Shanghai, Seoul, Dubai, Franklin School in Jersey City, Dwight Global Online, and, for the first time, Dwight Hanoi. 

For a quarter century, Dwight’s global concerts have bridged traditions, backgrounds, and customs through music and friendship. This year’s performances created a beautiful and diverse show entitled “In Our Wildest Dreams.”

 The first half of the performance focused on solos, duets, and collaborations within and across schools. The all-campus pieces in the second-half of the show thrilled the audience with “combined ensembles.” Each school began individual rehearsals in November, and then met together in New York for a week before the concert. 

The result was nothing short of magic. Despite coming from different countries and musical backgrounds, students found a sense of oneness in performing and socializing together. This special opportunity for Dwight students worldwide to meet in person led to many meaningful connections. 

“What stood out to me the most was the authenticity of our students' interactions,” said Lucas Simone, Dwight Global’s Head of Creative Arts.

 “Coming from a fully online learning environment, students arrived in New York not just prepared musically, but ready to connect deeply — across ages, cultures, and backgrounds. They formed a real, supportive community in just a few days. This speaks volumes about who they are, and how powerful online education can be when it nurtures both learning and personal growth.”  

Creating Music and Cementing Bonds

Dwight Global was well represented at the concert, with twelve students participating across grade levels, and many of them participating as featured soloists. 

For Dwight Global musicians, the concert also presented a chance to meet people from the different Dwight Schools and to work collaboratively with their own classmates. 

Dwight Global student Shrivijaya Sivakumar ’27, performed a voice solo, “Reedaha,” composed by Farah Siraj.

“It's so cool how different we all are in terms of cultures, what instruments we play, what we're going to do, and what this concept is going to look like, but then when we're in a social situation, we discover we’re all the same,” Shrivijaya said.

Other Dwight Global students participating were Kyrie Ng ’25, Will Slavinsky ’25, George Gjelaj ’26, Matthew Lim ’26, Anna Natsu ’26, Shira Braude ’27, Maximilian Hall ’28, Bhavya Prakash ’28, Adabelle Ross ’30, Allison Zheng ’30, and Ellie Yu ’31. 

Hall performed a piano solo “Ocean,” Piano Etude Op. 25, No. 12, by Frederic Chopin, and Lim performed two solo piano pieces: Aleksandr Scriabin’s Poem Op. 32, No. 1 and Nikolai Kapustin’s Etude Op. 40, No.1. 

Braude performed a solo violin piece by Camille Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No.3 in B minor, first Movement.

Gjelaj sang “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, alongside Dwight New York’s MacPhee Gleason ‘25 on voice and Kitteridge Starkie ‘27 on guitar. 

Natsu was featured on trumpet during “Shofukan,” composed by Michael League, arranged by Gourav Biswas and Cynthia Shi ’26, and performed by the Dwight Schools Jazz/Rock Ensemble.

Eric Novod, Head of Performing Arts at Dwight School New York, the host of the concert, noted that “Shofukan,” a song by jazzy jam group Snarky Puppy, was a feat of global collaboration. It was the first-ever combined Jazz/Rock ensemble gathered at a Dwight Global Network concert.

Dwight Global’s Events Coordinator Jill Brown was in the audience. Brown, who has an advanced degree in music education, worked previously for many years at Dwight NY as an Early Childhood music teacher. 

“This year’s concert blew me away,” she said. “The opportunity to build community with students coming from all over the world was fantastic. Twelve Dwight Global students in both middle and high school participated, and they truly bonded across grade levels. Many families attended, and also had opportunities to connect. They were extremely supportive of Dwight staff, too. It was a very special event, and it just gets better every year,” she said.

Sharing Tradition

This year’s Dwight Global Concert was set apart not only because of the collaboration of students across seas, but the way in which traditions were woven in from across the world. 

Drummer Eric Wu ’25, conductor of the opening piece, “On the Broad Northern Plain” performed by the Shanghai Folk Ensemble, infused the performance with authentic Chinese musical traditions, in part by having a traditional drum purchased and shipped to New York from Shanghai. 

Dwight School Hanoi, joining the concert for the first time, introduced traditional Vietnamese drums to the performance. Hanh Chi Ha ’28, one of six students who played the drums in “Hào Khí Việt Nam,” said, “The piece that was chosen represents our heritage, our myths, legends, our different dynasties and different rulers and the richness of our traditions. It's really amazing being able to represent our culture. And it was a really fun experience too, because it's a new one for us.”

Dwight NY student Yona Nemirof ’25, who played the violin, said “Music brings people together, which is the perfect example of what's happening with the global concert – that all the Dwight campuses gather to play beautiful music together.”

This show’s meaningful cross-cultural collaboration would not have been possible without the support, dedication, and hard work of each campus community, especially the host campus, New York, under the leadership of Novod.

Watch the 2025 Global Concert Here 

More About Dwight Global Online School 

Dwight Global Online School is a popular choice for student musicians, actors, and dancers seeking flexibility to rehearse and perform without sacrificing academic rigor. Dwight Global combines real-time online video conferencing seminars, Oxford-style tutorials, and a college-style schedule to provide students in grades 6-12 with a private school experience and the flexibility to pursue their passions. 

Student athletes and performers live in more than 35 countries around the world and can choose an IB, AP or a customized course of study. Students can attend classes from anywhere as well as participate in performing arts programs on Dwight Schools campuses and in cross-campus collaborations. Ms. Louisa Childs is Head of School.