Piano Perfection!

Year 9 musician, Sofia, was delighted to learn she had been awarded Joint Runner-Up in the Grade 5 piano class of the e-MusicMaestro online music competition this week! Despite only recently starting to practice her piece, Joueur de Harpe by Sibelius, Sofia beat a competitive field adjudicated by accomplished professional pianists, Emyr Roberts and Peter Noke, to achieve her success.

Sofia explained, “Towards the end of the academic year, our Director of Music notified us about a piano competition. I had never taken part in one before so I thought I would try it for fun. When I found out that I finished Joint Runner Up in grade 5, I felt happy and proud of my achievement as well as surprised because I had only started learning the piece a few weeks before. It has made me realize what I can accomplish on the piano and it is definitely an instrument I want to continue learning.”

e-MusicMaestro.com is an online service providing top quality, musical resources for free,  enabling students of all musical instruments to access aural testing resources and providing piano music for sight reading tests. Peter Noke, co-director of e-MusicMaestro and judge of Sofia’s playing, describes the satisfaction to be gained from music for him: “the greatest fulfilment came down to feeling valued for what I did musically and from being able to give something deeply meaningful back, at both an artistic and a teaching level.”

Sofia, who has been learning the piano for eight years, also plays double bass and electric bass at Leighton Park, participating in the School’s orchestra, jazz band and percussion group, P-ringles. Her daily 30-minute practice has increased both her confidence and her capability and can often extend into hours of enjoyment as she explores her favourite pieces from film, television and classical repertoire.

“I enjoy playing the piano very much now, however in the beginning I lacked confidence and was quite scared at trying any new pieces.” reflected Sofia, “Once I found what I could attain it became a little less daunting and I gradually grew more comfortable with the learning process”.

Proud mum, Sara, commented, “We are extremely proud of Sofia entering this competition of her own volition, and delighted with the result.   Over the years, we have had the privilege to witness her music journey which has been hallmarked by perseverance, enthusiasm and humility.  Sofia’s penchant for piano is now evident and we hope that she continues to build her relationship with the piano for years to come.”

Watch Sofia’s award winning performance on the e-MusicMaestro website: https://bit.ly/sofia_LP