School of Music cello students from The University of Queensland have achieved outstanding results in recent national auditions for the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Australian National Academy of Music.
Bachelor of Music (Honours) fourth year student Daniel Chiou was one of two cellists chosen from Australia and New Zealand to be awarded a scholarship to study at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne in 2020.
Over the next three years, Daniel will work with world-class mentors on artistic and professional development in performance. Daniel’s dream to achieve his performance ambitions is buoyed by the news, “I’m extremely excited to have been offered a place at ANAM — it’s an ideal environment!”
Daniel follows in the footsteps of 2017 Bachelor of Music (Honours) cello graduate Simon Svoboda, who also won a scholarship to ANAM before commencing a post-graduate position at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki.
Daniel along with fellow UQ cellists Rory Smith (fourth year) and Erna Lai (first year) were also awarded places in Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) programs for 2020, including the Australian Youth Orchestra tours and the Chamber Players Programs.
The annual AYO auditions visit each capital city, attracting hundreds of applicants for the highly-coveted positions.
The three UQ cellists will tour with the Australian Youth Orchestra to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane. They also travel to Sydney for the Chamber Players Program, a week-long intensive learning experience with the world-renowned Goldner String Quartet.
As well as the artistic excitement of the programs themselves, the students look forward to the interpersonal aspect. "Connections with like-minded musicians and mentors in our industry is vital for my development as professional musician— I’m thrilled!" reflected Rory Smith.
Their teacher, Cello Performance Fellow Patrick Murphy, shares their enthusiasm, “The School of Music is very proud of what these cellists have achieved. These programs are important pathways for aspiring professional performers — their results are a testament to their musicianship and hard work and reflect a flourishing community of performance. We have a vibrant performance culture at UQ that is producing high-quality work.”
