Student Highlight: Miller Achieves Merit in Grade 2 ABRSM Music Exam

Miller first started to play the piano at age 5 while he was living in the country of Qatar. His older sister Stella, who had been playing for two years, was a major influence on his wanting to start.  His teacher noticed that he was already capable of playing more advanced pieces early on, and started preparing him for the Grade 1 ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) exam.  Then, just before he was due to take the exam, COVID struck. All exams were cancelled and piano lessons moved online.  Undeterred, Miller and his teacher moved on to learning Grade 2 material, doing lessons via Zoom for more than a year, which was difficult for him as a young and inexperienced pianist.  

Before he could get back to in-person lessons, he found out he would be moving, first back to Canada for a few months, and then to Trinidad & Tobago.  He practiced through the summer and fall of 2021 wherever he could find a piano, even borrowing a keyboard from ISPS’ Music Department to practice on when he first arrived in Port of Spain until his piano arrived.  Finding a new teacher in Trinidad also took a few tries, but Mr. Enrique understood his need for closure with the Grade 2 material after more than 2 years of working on it in a start-and-stop manner!

Miller could have given up and quit his ABRSM preparation or even piano entirely at many steps along the way, but he persevered and successfully passed in February, earning a Merit on his exam. He is excited to start learning new pieces for the Grade 3 level soon, but for the next month is happy to be learning a few new songs ‘just for fun’!

Music: Elementary School