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| Cozumel kids take piano exams in Mexico City!; By Elizabeth Stockton Llaven | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 2 2010, 04:39 PM (522 Views) | |
| CZMLaura | Jun 2 2010, 04:39 PM Post #1 |
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“I can only think of music as something inherent in every human being - a birthright. Music coordinates mind, body and spirit.” YehudiMenuhin 1916-1999 We did it! After two years of hard work, on the 12th of May 2010, Arantza Cabeza Gonzalez and Ernesto Martinez Pelaez, both 11 years old, took their Piano Grades 3 and 4 ABRSM exams – Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, at the CIEM – Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música A.C., in Mexico City. The ABRSM (www.abrsm.org) is an examining board founded in 1889, with the authority of four of the UK´s leading conservatoires, among them the Royal Academy of Music. It is the world's leading specialist in music assessment. Every year more than 600,000 candidates take exams in over 90 countries around the world. Their objective is to motivate musical achievement in students of all levels and ages, giving them a series of realistic goals and tangible rewards for their achievements. Once a year an examiner travels to South America on an exam tour. This year it was Welsh violinist and pianist Gillian Williams. After the unfortunate cancelation of exams in Mexico last year due to the flu epidemic (which caught us off guard, with tickets, sheet music and suitcase in hand, and one foot on the plane) this year, free from contingencies and volcanic eruptions, Arantza and Ernesto were finally able to close this stage of their musical training. They took off on a great adventure to Mexico City, in order to be part of the group of children and adults from the whole country taking exams. We are particularly proud to announce that they were not only the first kids representing Cozumel, but the first from the southeast region of the country. We hope they are the first of many! The ABRSM practical exams consist of four sections: 3 pieces of different styles and periods of music, scales and arpeggios, sight reading and aural tests. To give you an idea of the relevancy of these exams, you could say that they are the equivalent to Cambridge ESOL English language exams. The syllabus consists of 8 grades. Due to the high level of academic difficulty these exams are famous for, as of Grade 6 each exam passed serves toward university entrance requirements in the UK, Canada, Australia and South Africa. I would like to point out and celebrate the enormous effort made by Arantza and Ernesto in the face of the level of difficulty of this great challenge. The artistic discipline which was required from them is not commonly demanded from children of this age, least of all in this country. The seeds sowed throughout this experience will reap valuable fruits in their personal and academic life, today and tomorrow whether they dedicate themselves to music or not. This was a grand accomplishment without a doubt. Both of them arrived on the day of the exam with butterflies in their stomachs and the normal concern that accompanies the thought of been evaluated, but sure of themselves. Light hearted and open to the experience, excited, anxious to play on the huge grand piano and practice their English with the examiner, smiling, curious, a little nervous and smothered by the smog, but with the poise, air and shiny glow of young artists… from Cozumel! Now we wait with great excitement for the results from the UK in the next few weeks. Everyone is invited to the next concert; we hope to see you there! We´ll keep you posted. Last but not least, I would like to congratulate the mums and dads and granddads and grandmas of these young artists. My most sincere appreciation, as their teacher, for your trust and support. Your kids and I couldn´t have made it this far without your effort, vision and above all, PERSEVERANCE. I celebrate and admire any parent who involves their children with such enthusiasm in after-school music, sports, dance, karate… you are providing themwith the tools to create beauty through hard work and discipline, and they will see and treat the world in a different light. If we can teach kids to create beauty then maybe they won´t try to destroy it when they´re older. A big special thank you for the support given to us by the Government of the state of Quintana Roo in order to be able to travel to Mexico City. Thank you and congratulations to all… as always to my loving parents for taking me to my piano lessons when I was a kid, to Ayelen Rojas Bermudez (my most dedicated adult student and the brave living proof that it is never too late to follow your dreams) who worked extremely hard toward her Grade 3, to Arantza and Ernesto for being so amazing, and to the Cabeza Gonzalez and Martinez Pelaez families for helping the echo of pianos to be heard in Cozumel. ¡Viva la Música! Elizabeth Stockton elistockton@hotmail.com http://elistockton.sitiosprodigy.mx, |
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8:35 AM Jul 11