ABRSM Grade 2 Distinction

Today I had the great pleasure of presenting an ABRSM Grade 2 Distinction certificate to my pupil Shiyi.

Shiyi played a wonderful programme consisting of: Attwood: Allegro (1st movt from Sonatina No. 1 in G), Plé: Le chant du pâtre (No. 11 from Les chants et les jeux), Anne Crosby Gaudet: Angelfish and finished with Hässler: Ecossaise in G (No. 23 from 50 pièces à l’usage des commençans, Op. 38).

The examiners notes were a pleasure to read: Attwood: Allegro (1st movt from Sonatina No. 1 in G) “Phrases were nicely shaped and shaded in dynamics and notes were always safely under the fingers. Bravo!”, Plé: Le chant du pâtre (No. 11 from Les chants et les jeux) “phrases were shapely and had plenty of breathing space, and note security was never in any doubt.”, Anne Crosby Gaudet: Angelfish “Phrases were always colourful and shaded in dynamics, and the sustain pedal was consistently well controlled. A lovely account.”, Hässler: Ecossaise in G (No. 23 from 50 pièces à l’usage des commençans, Op. 38) “Articulation danced well at the effective tempo chosen, with a sense of instinctive musical shaping.”

Summing up the performance “…The individual pieces were very well-differentiated and the vast majority of technical challenges were reliably met. Well done!”

I would like to thank Shiyi and her parents for the hard work as we finalised her preparation in the lead-up to the exam and also for having confidence in me to teach him.