Remarkable music achievement
St Kilda Road Year 10 student, Andrew Nguyen-Dang, has recently attained the highly prestigious Australian Music Examinations Board Licentiate Diploma in Music (LMusA) on piano. The LMusA is awarded to outstanding candidates in the fields of musical performance and music theory. Usually only attained at university level, it is an exceptional reward for Andrew’s dedicated personal effort to have achieved it at just 16 years of age.
Andrew has been playing the piano since the age of six, and completed his first exam in Year 2. He says learning to play has brought great personal fulfilment, and that “it’s a great privilege to reach such a distinguished standard of musical studies”. The support of his teachers and family has been invaluable.
Reaching this prestigious level has also taken many hours of dedication, Andrew says he practices for two hours every day and upwards of that on the weekend. He also enjoys learning the violin (he has just reached 8th Grade AMEB level), and finds another hour every day to practice the violin.
Composing music is another of the things Andrew loves about playing the piano - the sound is what he loves most. He is also passionate about performing and “sharing his musical knowledge with others”. Usually Andrew composes classical-style pieces, but for his VCE Music Investigation studies this year he challenged himself to produce a symbolist kind of composition, much in the style of the French composer Messiaen.
Beethoven is Andrew’s favourite composer, and he is inspired by the internationally-renowned pianist and conductor, Daniel Barenboim, who has performed all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas.
Wesley College is delighted for Andrew, and we encourage him to continue to explore his passion for music.
