Young pianist Ann Anh-Thu Nguyen selected to perform with the Melbourne Classic Orchestra on May 22
Anh-Thu performed at Melba Hall in 2014. (Photo: TiVi Tuan-san) The music concert, presented by the University of Melbourne’s Master of Music program, will begin at 4pm and entry is free.
This week, the 20-year-old sat down with TiVi Tuan-San to explain her journey as a pianist.
“I started playing piano at around the age of six,” Ann-Thu said.
“My mum also plays piano so she inspired and started me up with little children songs, before I had the official piano lessons. It had always been my mother’s dream to hear me play the piano.”
Born in Sydney, Ann-Thu moved to Melbourne with her family at an early age. By eight-years old, she started violin lessons.
She won her first piano prize when she was seven, and it was then, that she started to develop an interest for the instrument.
“I continued playing piano as a performance hobby and it was until after year 12 that I considered music as a career, so I just had an idea to try out and see how it goes.”
Anh-Thu Nguyen sits down with TVTS for an interview. (Photo: TiVi Tuan-san)
Ann-Thu said the decision to take piano seriously meant she had to put in a lot of determination and hard work.
“To be honest, probably in the first few years of my lessons, [playing the piano] was a bit tiring sometimes because I wasn’t fully motivated.
“From my middle-teenage years and onwards, I started motivating myself with many repertoires of different styles. That’s when I truly began enjoying piano.
“I’m grateful to my parents, who introduced me to the piano at the start. Thanks to that, I knew where my passion had come from.”
Ann-Thu has won a number of piano awards and Eisteddfod prizes in Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne.
She was a finalist in the 2014 Preston Concerto Competition and in 2015, she was a finalist in ‘The Talent – 3MBS’ program and received the Francis Quinn Award from the University of Melbourne, for best music student of the year.
Most recently, Ann-Thu has been selected as a 2016 recipient of the DW Gardiner Fund – a University of Melbourne scholarship for excellent Bachelor graduate valued over $4,000.
Winning competitions, however, is not everything to the young pianist.
“I think concerts are more enjoyable than competitions which may be convoluted with the stress, while concerts, also involve some stress but bring out the pleasant and rewarding feeling afterwards,” she said, “especially resulting in a friendly environment.”
In 2005, Ann-Thu studied at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) for three years.
Later in 2010, she became a member of the Australian Young Musicians Academy which is an extension of ANAM, designed as the most intensive training program for selective young Australian musicians with performance opportunities that include weekly concerts, ensembles and master classes.
She is currently studying her Honours degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, at the University of Melbourne.
Ann-Thu also holds an AMusA (Associate Diploma in Music, Australia) and LMusA (Licentiate Diploma in Music, Australia) in piano performance and a Fellowship Diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College of Music, London.
Recently, she completed her Bachelor of Music in just two years, with first-class honours for all subjects.
Anh-Thu completed a bachelor of music in just two years. (Photo supplied)
In her spare time, Ann-Thu said she likes to arrange music with her friends and organise music programs to fundraise for charity.
“From last year, I started organising charity concerts. I did a fundraising concert for the Nepal earthquake at St Martin church in Avondale Heights and we raised $6,000.
“I felt like I could use my talents to help others and put my musical skills to great use.”
Asked about what the future had in store for her, the talented pianist said she was still thinking about it.
“I’m considering not only performance but also teaching music, perhaps at university or at school, teaching younger students or even older students.”
Speaking about being a Vietnamese Australian, Ann-Thu said she appreciated and identified herself with both her heritages.
“I have good connection with my family and I really enjoy our Vietnamese culture and music.
“I like it when families pass down some traditions even though they might be slightly modified but there’s still a core to it.”
She added that Vietnamese music was similar, “Though our Vietnamese music has been diverse and impacted by various musical traditions throughout its history, it still has a unique musical tradition stemming from its native roots.
“That’s something I’m really proud about.”
Ann-Thu also revealed that one of her goals would be to develop the harmony between both communities by arranging Vietnamese music to western orchestras.
A poster of the music program on Sunday May 22, 2016. (Photo supplied)
In her upcoming concert, Ann-Thu – who was chosen as a soloist by Melbourne University and conductor Alexander Vengerovski – will perform the Piano Concerto No.1 by Russian composer Shostakovich.
“The concert program is promising to be a very exciting and enjoyable concert. Though I’ve played many concertos, this is the first time I’m playing with the Melbourne Classic Orchestra.”
“This is one of the most brilliant works [the Shostakovich concerto] exploring Russian traditional culture. There will be a lot of Russian folk themes for everyone to enjoy.”
“It’s so different from Vietnamese and Australian music,” Ann-Thu added. “Shostakovich combines traditional Russian music together with some jazz flavours, making the music unique in itself.”
Audiences will be able to hear the Melbourne Classic Orchestra perform three other symphonies written by the well-known classical composers; Mozart, Dvorak and Sibelius.
– TiVi Tuan-san
Additional concert information:
Sunday 22/05/2016 at 4pm
FREE entry
Located at Melba Hall, Faculty of Music
Gate 12 – The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade Street, Parkville VIC 3052
(Melway map 2B, ref C7)
