A six-year-old piano student from Richmond received the highest exam mark from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto.
Katrina Poon was awarded a gold medal for her remarkable piano exam mark, scoring 95 in her Preparatory B – the highest in that grade of all students in B.C. and the Yukon who participated in the 2023-24 music exams.
Poon received the medal at a Celebration of Excellence concert at the Vancouver Academy of Music’s Koerner Recital Hall in October.
Linda Shirley, teacher and school founder of The Arts Conservatory, where Poon takes lessons, stated the six-year-old prodigy continues to inspire her as a teacher because of her passion for music lessons and the pieces she learns.
“I always look forward to her lessons and love it when she arrives with a piece I assigned the previous week and says, ‘Can I play this one first? I love it! It's so beautiful,'” said Shirley in a release.
“Katrina is self-motivated and frequently practices on her own and goes to the piano without prompting often to just play and explore.”
Shirley added that, along with several other dedicated students, Poon is one of the reasons she will continue to teach and not retire.
At the Celebration of Excellence concert, Poon performed “Habanera” from George Bizet’s opera Carmen.
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