16-year-old Ava King was nominated for the TrinityTalent ‘Class of 2021’ in the Progress category for her efforts whilst completing her Vocals Grade 1 exam. Ava completed her exam at the Voices of Darlington in Darlington and has shown great improvement, recognised not only by the TrinityTalent panel but also by her peers, having been nominated for Youth Choice.
Ava was nominated for TrinityTalent by her teacher Claire Wilmer, from Voices of Darlington, who said: “Ava began lessons online during the height of the pandemic at age 15, with overwhelming anxiety and initially unable to sing a note alone. Gradually Ava began to sing small phrases by herself. I encouraged Ava to begin the wonderful journey into the Rock & Pop grades, knowing that the flexibility, freedom and clarity of a working path and goal would be right for her. Ava grew from strength to strength and finally met me in person when we filmed her performance. Ava scored 98/100 on her first exam, and upon watching it back, you would never have guessed she was so anxious. She is entirely engaging, musically creative, and a joy to watch.”
The TrinityTalent panel said: "We were delighted to see Ava's progress with her singing. She has shown fantastic progress from having no singing experience to performing by herself. She's overcome personal challenges with her confidence, and we see a budding charisma in her performance."
The Youth Choice panel said: "Ava’s application seems really strong, and her vocal performance was really impressive. Her stage presence is also good. There are elements where we can see her vocal skills are improving, and we feel overall she’s a great singer.”
How do you feel about being selected to be part of TrinityTalent ‘Class of 2021’ and being recognised in this way?
I am so excited to have been selected! It means the absolute world to me to have someone recognise the hard work I have put in over the past year!
How do you feel you have developed creatively and artistically in 2021?
As crazy as it sounds, I think the main way I have developed over the past year has been learning to get things wrong and make mistakes. This has given me so much more freedom to grow and explore when singing without constantly worrying that everything needs to be perfect 100% of the time.
What impact did your Trinity qualification/ Arts Award achievement have on your artistic development?
Working towards my Trinity vocal exams gave me the opportunity to learn and perfect more technical elements of singing that I otherwise would have neglected on my own. I found that working towards a vocal exam gave me focus and a determination to work hard.
Has taking part in a Trinity qualification or Arts Award helped you to develop wider skills, such as communication skills, creativity or confidence?
When I first began doing singing lessons, I was incredibly anxious and massively doubted my ability. Taking part in Trinity’s vocal exams reassured me that I was a good singer and gave me the confidence to begin taking part in performances.
If you took a digital music or drama exam, please tell us how you found the experience of recording your performance
I loved being able to take a digital vocal exam rather than an in-person one. I was able to perform in an environment I felt comfortable with, without seeing the examiner taking notes – that always makes me nervous.
What are the next steps for you artistically and creatively in 2022?
At the moment, I've just begun working towards my Grade 5 Rock & Pop Vocals exam, which I am so excited to be working on. I'm also looking to start building an acoustic setlist so that I can begin to do some small solo performances.
What are your longer term aims, for example for your future studies or work?
Right now, I'm not 100% sure what I want to do in the future. However, I do know that I have a huge passion for singing, and that is something I never want to give up.
Have you got any advice for other young people working towards a Trinity qualification or Arts Award?
My advice would be to work hard but have fun. Having a technically perfect song is a really important part of your exam, but I think it's even more important to have fun. Showing your love for music in your exam really takes your performance to the next level.
Read more about the talented young people selected to be featured as part of the TrinityTalent Class of 2021.
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