Leonard Bernstein, renowned conductor, composer, and educator once said, “Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” This quote captures the essence of how music, like drama, transcends the limits of words, expressing the deepest emotions and stories that are often beyond verbal description. Brian Drye and Rafael Peacock, curriculum specialists in Music and Drama at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York encapsulate Bernstein’s words as a Juilliard Alum, teacher and influencer and brought it with them to Qatar this past month.

Through their interactions with students, parents, and staff at Nord Anglia International School – Al Khor (NAISAK) and Compass International School – Doha (CISD)—both of which represent Nord Anglia Education (NAE) in Qatar—they ensured that the Juilliard curriculum was followed and applied in classrooms and professional teacher development. This visit marked a significant milestone in NAE’s growing partnership with one of the world’s foremost institutions in the performing arts.

Over several days, both students and faculty engaged in a series of inspiring and interactive demonstration sessions, gaining firsthand insight into Juilliard’s unique and rigorous approach to arts education. Rafael Peacock led dynamic drama classes that explored the nuances of theatrical performance and character development. Students were introduced to key elements of Juilliard’s drama philosophy, emphasizing emotional depth, physical expression, and the art of storytelling. Through practical exercises and scene work, they learned new techniques for bringing scripts to life. Peacock also collaborated closely with NAISAK and CISD’s Drama Teachers sharing strategies to further enrich the schools’ drama curriculum—striking a balance between high artistic standards and an engaging, accessible experience for young performers across all levels.

“Learning from Rafael is always amazing. He has a special way of making all the students get involved and truly engage with the lesson,” said Lois Woodward. “It was a pleasure to showcase my teaching methods as a Juilliard Accomplished Teacher to a specialist in the field of drama.”

Reflecting on the experience, Woodward shared, “To have the people that wrote and contributed to the Juilliard curriculum—true experts in their fields—come into our classrooms and see how we apply it is incredible. It’s something I genuinely look forward to every year. It’s a highlight of my year, honestly.”

As someone teaching drama from Year 1 to Year 11, she appreciated the nuanced feedback that came from working directly with Raphael: “He observed two of my classes—one in Year 4 and one in IGCSE Year 10—and gave me space to reflect deeply. The debrief sessions aren’t about criticism. They follow the Juilliard approach of ‘Make, Reflect, Connect.’ It gives me the chance to think about what worked, what could be refined, and how we adapt the pedagogy for our unique student body here in Qatar.”

Peacock added to this sentiment, stating, “We are having a wonderful time thought-partnering, finding the best lessons for the students—and the best lessons for the teachers as well. That is an important part of spreading joy and finding the joy in yourself and your own teaching practices.”

He also remarked on the cultural richness at NAISAK and CISD: “It is a beautifully welcoming, warm, vibrant culture. Each time I come, my connection to this place deepens.” During the PD sessions, culture was a key theme: “We explored understanding the self, and then the culture, and the deep roots within that. Teaching is very much its own culture. The shared values we see—inclusion, equity, cultural competence—are at the heart of both Juilliard and Nord Anglia.”

Woodward echoed this value, noting how personalized and developmental the feedback truly is: “Even as a teacher, you’re always learning. You want to grow. Having Raphael—someone who helped shape the curriculum—watch and give feedback, especially across different age groups and cultural contexts, is incredibly enriching. It helps us refine and adapt lessons for our learners here in the Middle East, where certain scaffolding or sensitivities may be necessary.”

Peacock also spoke to this directly: “Everyone is highly aware of their culture and making sure that they’re allowing other cultures into the room. Today was Cultural Competency 1. We’ve got more coming. Brian and I are both working on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging lessons that will roll out company-wide.”

His impact was also felt beyond NAISAK. Teachers Andrew Pegrum and Peter Holden, who lead drama at CISD-Gharraffa, shared: “Rafael always brings great ideas and great energy to the classroom. It’s always good to watch. There’s always something like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know I could try that!’” Pegrum explained. “Even one thing we saw in Mr. Holden’s class—I tried to mimic it later that day in mine. It was the last lesson, kids were tired, but it worked. ‘One voice, one voice’—and they took to it!”

Holden added: “It’s really valuable. For the children who see the same faces every day, having a specialist come in with so much experience—who can engage the students from the moment they walk in—is something special. We’re very lucky.”

On the professional development side, Holden noted, “All the PD from last year and this year, along with the resources from the Creative Classroom, has really helped me. It’s building on what I already knew and embedding it more deeply in my lessons. It gives children ways to use their voices and bodies that they don’t usually get to.”

Pegrum concluded, “One of the big takeaways is just watching Rafael teach. As soon as he walks into a room, he’s doing something that captures the audience, captures the classroom. That’s what I enjoy the most.”

Meanwhile, on the music front, Brian Drye conducted a series of transformative music sessions focused on the intersection of technical skill and expressive artistry. Students had the opportunity to perform and receive personalized feedback from an educator deeply rooted in Juilliard’s musical tradition. Emphasis was placed not only on mastering instruments, but also on expressing emotion and building authentic connections with the audience. In collaboration with NAISAK and CISD’s Music Teachers, Drye provided valuable input on enhancing the schools’ applied music curriculum—encouraging deeper musical understanding while nurturing creativity and self-expression.

“I really enjoyed the experience. It was especially inspiring to see how Brian connected with Year 8 students—using quick, engaging games that tied into familiar topics like electricity. It showed how effectively the curriculum works when applied in the right way,” said Angela Leake, Music teacher at NAISAK.

The impact of the visit was also strongly felt by CISD- Garrafah’s Primary Music Teacher, Sarah Connolly, who has a longstanding connection to the Juilliard philosophy herself. “This is my third year as Primary Music Teacher, I’ve learned so much from Brian and Raphael—especially Brian. Watching him deliver a Juilliard Creative Classroom lesson was incredibly beneficial,” she said. “He’s not just a mentor—he’s my prime model. And what better model than someone working with Juilliard?”

Connolly highlighted how meaningful it is for students to engage directly with Juilliard professionals: “We teach Juilliard lessons every week using their Creative Classroom resources, but meeting the specialists in person makes it all tangible. It gives our students something real to connect with—they feel proud to be part of this collaboration.”

Professional development was another core focus of the visit. “This morning’s PD was fantastic. I came away with a full page of takeaways,” Connolly shared. “It was also a chance to collaborate with performing arts colleagues from other Nord Anglia schools. At the end, we sat down with Brian as a music department and mapped out shared goals, with Brian helping us break those into achievable steps.”

Kathleen Riley, Juilliard Link and Music Teacher at Themaid Campus, also praised the value of the PD sessions: “The sessions are enlightening as they are one of the few content area PD sessions offered for our performance arts teachers,” she shared.
“Getting to work with our own creative teaching team gives me a refresh of my own talents. These sessions helped build a network for me within the Nord Anglia community.”

She also reflected on student engagement following the sessions: “I’ve noticed that the students are more engaged with the process of creating. This transferrable skill is taken to other disciplines. In my opinion, the lessons from Brian and Raphael are not designed to reach one specific learning goal but to explore the elements of performance art with the intent to create original moments of art.”

And on the human connection that makes Juilliard visits so memorable, she added: “It was a heartwarming moment to see Raphael stop a student in the hallway to say, ‘I remember when you shared with us in class last year. How did those ideas work out for your final project?’—and the student brighten up knowing they were remembered.”

Echoing the broader purpose of the visits, Riley added: “The broader value of this visit is exposure to the different disciplines of performance arts that aren’t widely seen in Qatar. Bringing these specialists in gives our students time on campus to experience a professional connection that might only be made if they travel outside the region.”

Echoing this appreciation for Juilliard’s research-informed, culturally responsive pedagogy, Sultan Ososanya, Director of Performing Arts at CISD, shared his insights: “They bring you a perspective that is deeply rooted in pedagogy—and it’s not just in theory. It’s experiential. The kids are doing, they’re making sound, they’re moving. It’s inclusive, engaging, and powerful.” He added, “In our international setting, particularly in places like Qatar, we have to be aware of how we open the world of performing arts in a sensitive and culturally appropriate way. What Brian and Rafael brought was a question-driven, research-based model. That’s how you build cultural competence—not by prescribing, but by engaging.”

Also contributing to this dialogue was Maritza Pinto, Whole School Music Teacher at CISD– Madinat Khalifa, who said: “I think the experience has been phenomenal. I love how we can see different perspectives in different classrooms from their teachers. And being in an expat country, or a country with different religions, different cultural backgrounds—having the concepts of what is culture and making it a part of our identity as well—is brilliant.”

Speaking ahead of Brian and Raphael’s demo session at her campus, she added:
“It’s going to be an amazing opportunity for my students because it’s not their everyday learning. They’re already very engaged in music, so it’s not just a treat—it’s something they will seize and grow from.”

She also shared how Juilliard’s curriculum supports cultural sensitivity: “Juilliard is basically a self-navigating curriculum. You know, the students kind of figure it out as they go along,” she explained. “For them, it’s interesting because the cultural situation is different. They have the culture at home—and even at home, there are often two different cultures, because sometimes the mother is from one place, the father from another. Maybe they meet in religion or in identity, but there’s always this blend.”

She continued, “What I love is that Juilliard’s perspective is global. It’s not just a program that comes from North America to our school and stays out of context—not at all. It adapts. It allows us to blend our British curriculum with the contextual curriculum we’re building here. Because, of course, we’re in an Arab community, and we need to have that part of the music, that part of the culture too. So it’s a beautiful mix that we’re trying to do here, and I think this is phenomenal.”

Regional Juilliard Lead for NAE in the Middle East and Head of Performing Arts at NAISAK, Laura Opperman, said planning Brian and Rafael’s visit this year marked a significant shift from previous experiences. “In the past, they would always just arrive and demo a lesson and we teach a lesson and that’s it,” she explained. “This year, we were lucky enough to have them for two days in NAISAK.” The extended time allowed for deeper engagement—not just with students, but also with parents and staff and then more as they visited CISD’s 3 campuses.

Months of preparation went into coordinating the visit, with the team beginning logistics as early as October. “To put events like this together or a visit like this together, they take months,” said the lead organizer Opperman. “Brian had a very long tour to Asia… he had to link all his Middle Eastern countries together so that it’s just logistic-wise easier.”

The curriculum specialists held masterclasses with students and provided tailored feedback that went beyond technical skill. “They told them at the end how they can improve and how they can perform or not be scared,” Opperman noted. The interaction clearly left an impression on both sides. “Brian and Rafael absolutely love coming to our schools. The kids know them very well.”

In the lead-up to the visit, students at NAISAK researched Brian’s career, created posters, and wrote personal messages. “So the kids were hyped up. They were super excited,” said Opperman. The energy extended to the parent outreach event, where families watched their children perform and later queued to speak directly with Brian and Rafael. “It was wonderful to see my students perform and to hear the feedback at the end… the students had so many interesting questions and really intelligent, higher-order thinking questions,” Opperman recalled. “Brian and Rafael said they had to think before they were talking to these students.”

Beyond the performances, the visit underscored the value of collaboration between staff and curriculum specialists. “They are our thought partners and they learn from us, but we learn so much from them as well,” Opperman emphasized. Watching Brian and Rafael bring the Juilliard Creative Classroom lessons to life was a powerful professional learning experience: “It opened your eyes. It made you see the lesson… through a different light, through a different lens.”

The visit of Brian Drye and Rafael Peacock to Nord Anglia’s schools in Qatar was more than a demonstration of artistic excellence—it was a celebration of the transformative power of music and drama to connect, inspire, and elevate learning across cultures. By bringing Juilliard’s world-class pedagogy into classrooms filled with diverse voices and rich cultural identities, they bridged continents and traditions with creativity, compassion, and curiosity. For both students and educators, the experience offered a rare opportunity to reflect, refine, and reimagine what arts education can be: dynamic, inclusive, and deeply human. As the echoes of their visit continue to resonate through performances, lesson plans, and teacher practice, one thing is clear—this is not just about teaching music or drama. It’s about shaping confident, empathetic, and culturally aware individuals who understand, as Bernstein once said, how to “name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” And in doing so, they become artists of their own learning and storytellers of the world around them.