Violinist scores Grade 8 distinction at five years old
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Travis Wong, who is now six, has perfect pitch and can easily play a tune after listening to it. It is not known if he is the youngest to get distinction in the Grade 8 violin exam as the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music started noting down candidates’ ages only from last December.
ST PHOTO: YONG LI XUAN
When five-year-old Travis Wong achieved distinction in the Grade 8 violin performance examination conducted by the London-based Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) in April, his family was surprised.
Travis, who turned six last month, picked up the violin when he was three. He had less than four months to master four pieces of music after his first exam, the Grade 5 violin performance exam, last December.
"His teacher thought he could do it so we decided there was nothing to lose and just let him try," says his mother Joleen Toh, who is in her 40s.
For violin exams by ABRSM, Grade 8 is the highest level before the suite of diplomas, which are taken at the professional level.
It is not known if he is the youngest to get distinction in the Grade 8 violin exam as the ABRSM started noting down candidates' ages only from last December.
But Ms Rita Yeo, founding director of music school Stradivari Strings, says it is rare to achieve such a distinction within two years of learning the violin.
She has seen students ace the Grade 8 exam within four years, but they are typically adults who picked up the violin as a second musical instrument.
"For this child to be able to achieve this feat, he is likely to have innate musical ability, is cognitively more advanced than children his age and have parental support," she adds.
Ms Yap Shu Mei, director of music school Mandeville Conservatory of Music, says the youngest person she knows of who scored distinction in the ABRSM Grade 8 violin exam was eight years old.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has led to major changes in how classical music exams are conducted. Candidates now submit the best version of a recording of four pieces of music in a continuous take instead of playing in person in the presence of an examiner.
"Online exams give candidates who learn music through hearing and rote learning an edge," says Ms Yeo.
Under normal times, candidates are also tested on skills such as sight reading. In the Grade 8 exam, the candidate should possess listening and analytical abilities and be able to speak eloquently in the aural test, says Ms Yap.
Young children are usually not strong in aural tests and sight reading, she observes.
"It is not impossible but it is definitely quite challenging for a five-year-old to do that."
She adds: "It is, however, not difficult for talented and hard-working kids to play the higher-level pieces just by imitating the emotions of mature players."
As for Travis, he will now work on mastering the rest of the repertoire in the exams he has skipped.
Ms Toh, a stay-home mother, hopes to arrange a concert for him when Covid-19 restrictions ease.
Before the pandemic, he had performed his favourite pieces for seniors at an elderly daycare centre.
"When I play for others, it makes me happy to see them smile and look like they enjoy the music," says the only child.
Ms Toh first discovered Travis' affinity for music when she took him to a music class for toddlers when he was 18 months old.
"He demonstrated a strong rhythmic sense and was able to understand the mood of different songs, such as by tearing when he listens to slow or sad songs," she says.
Travis also has perfect pitch, says Ms Toh, a former flight attendant. He can easily play a tune after listening to it, she adds.
Having achieved Grade 8 in piano when she was 14, Ms Toh at first wanted him to learn the piano.
But the boy, who likes dinosaurs, decided to learn the violin instead after seeing a YouTube orchestra video featuring Jurassic Park songs.
To guide Travis, Ms Toh picked up the violin along with him but stopped after two months as she was unable to keep up with him.
To cultivate his interest in music, she often plays classical music at home. She also lets him drift off to violin music every night.
"I even played classical music when he was still in my womb," she says.
