On March 15th I performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Roger Benedict. This was the most significant performance I have had so far in my life and it was a very fulfilling experience for me. For the encore I played my own arrangement/improvisation which combined an improvisation on the concerto’s famous second movement with a Jazz piece that I arranged to fit references of the concertos main themes from each movement.
Shortly after, I was awarded the George Henderson Travellers Scholarship through SCM to go to Switzerland for masterclasses. My scholarship trip that includes the use of the T&V foundation fund is built around this.
One week ago from now I additionally won first prize at the Sydney Eisteddfod Any Age Piano Concerto section which awarded me $3,000. I played the first movement of De Falla’s ‘Noches en los Jardines de España’. This was a very funny and surprising turn of events, as I originally had thought the section was worth $200! It was a great privilege of course, and it has been a pleasure performing this work in the last two months which is so beautifully evocative of Spain and its rich culture.
Finally, I have been selected as a finalist in the 2024 Australian National Piano Award Competition held in Shepparton and am set to compete in October. It was unbeknownst to me that this was one of the biggest national piano competitions in Australia. I likely would not have entered if I had known this information as I am not the biggest fan of competitions however, I plan to try and make the most of it being this far.
Other than the ANPA competition, upcoming in this year I have five solo concerts in the next semester once I return from my trip as well as a trip to perform in Japan/Korea as a part of the SCM Wind Symphony Tour after I successfully won the piano position through audition. It is projected to be the most intense workload I have experienced in my life and although I am bracing, I am so grateful for the support I have received to get me this far and to help me receive so many wonderful opportunities.
