Monday 16 / June / 2025
Muscat: Rock superstar Katie Tunstall’s visit will live long in the memory of the students at the British School Muscat, according to their Principal Kai Vacher.
The Scottish songstress is in Oman for a one-night-only performance on November 1, but took the time out to conduct a singing session with students at the school on Monday.
The visit was the brainchild of Gordon Mackenzie, the managing director of Alive Entertainment, which is bringing Katie—often known by her initials, KT—to the Middle East.
“Gordon thought it’d be a great opportunity for some of our students, who are interested in music and drama and the performing arts to meet an international superstar like Katie,” said Vacher, speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman.
“The students were very excited that she was coming to their school, and they felt quite privileged.
“We had four girls: Maitha, Crea, Tessa and Carol, who are all very accomplished singers, and they were excited that we’d give them the opportunity to sing in front of Katie and over a 100 students,” he added.
“What the girls found useful was the advice she gave them in terms of feedback and how they might overcome some of the difficulties they might face in their career. They were quite lucky to have a bit of mentoring from a superstar who just happened to turn up in their school.”
KT also told the students about the journey she’d been on to get to this point.
“She told the students a bit about her journey from being a child who loved music, but couldn’t play the piano, although that was what she wanted to do, so she taught herself to play the guitar, and then went to university and studied music and drama,” added Vacher. “She liked both, but she wanted to write and perform her own songs, so she decided to go into music.”
It was her song 'Suddenly I See', which was featured in the smash hit movie 'The Devil Wears Prada' that saw her make her big break. KT sang two of her most famous songs: 'Black Horse' and the 'Cherry Tree' and 'Suddenly I See' in front of the enthralled students.
“She told our students that if you are afraid of performing, just think of it as a performance in front of your friends, and practice again and again,” said Vacher. “She also said it was important to be yourself, and be confident about how you are. If you are a bit weird, that might be good, because it means you are distinctive and that is how you become distinctive as a performer. I think she was quite intrigued when one of the students asked her if she’d ever been through a phase, to which she responded that she’d been through a lot of phases.”
KT’s visit was also a special moment for Vacher himself. “A lot of the students wanted selfies with Katie, so we all took a big photo, and then Gordon insisted I take a photo with her as well,” he revealed. “I am a long-standing fan of hers”
“As the global reputation of BSM expands, we’ve had more recognised talented people come to visit our students,” explained Vacher. “We had slam poet champion Harry Baker come to see us last year, as well as Olympic swimmer Lizzie Simmonds. We have two Olympic swimmers coming here next month—Liam Tancock and Caitlyn McClatchey—for the grand opening of our facilities, and had British adventurer Levison Wood come here just last month. These people will inspire our students to figure out what they want to do with their lives, and we are very lucky that so many talented people want to come to Oman.”
