Lucy Toal | TrinityTalent 2019

Lucy is celebrated by Trinity for Leadership in Classical and Jazz. 

Lucy Toal | TrinityTalent 2019

Lucy was nominated by her teacher for her leadership skills shown during her grade 8 piano Classical and Jazz qualification. They said 'Lucy is an incredibly talented musician who plays with such creative and artistic flair. In school, she has now assumed the role of piano accompanist for the senior choir. She was also rehearsal pianist for the local musical society when they performed 'Annie'. Her skills at sight-reading and her mature and sensitive playing mean that she is able to perform at a level way beyond that expected of a child of 15 years. As well as piano, Lucy is a talented singer (grade 8) and a keen cornet player grade 6).  She is a member of the  youth orchestra in NI and a vital member of the local chamber choir. She is undoubtedly a very creative and artistic musician and I think her talents should be recognised.' 

In what ways would you say your Classical and Jazz qualification has influenced your artistic achievement, creativity, leadership or progress? 

My grade 8 in piano has provided me with a skillset to assist other young people on their journey to enjoy music and become accomplished pianists. My Trinity qualifications have strengthened my passion for music and I transfer this passion by enthusing younger children to develop a desire to want to learn to play the piano. 

When I began learning the piano, I never would have believed that I would achieve my grade 8 and I hope that I am a good role-model for the younger people who know me. I believe and tell them that all our dreams are within our reach if we just reach far enough! 

How has participating in a Classical and Jazz qualification impacted your artistic skills or career development?

Working through my Trinity piano grades has helped me to appreciate others’ talent (not just musically but all the creative arts) and I now recognise the time and effort that goes into creating, not only a piano sonata, but a piece of literature or a painting. Nowadays, I feel that our education system is very focused on the academic subjects and I believe that music and the creative arts are vital to nourish the creative soul.  The creative subjects provide us with opportunities to develop our skills holistically, so that we will become better contributors to society. 

Through participation in the Trinity College London piano qualifications, I had the opportunity to allow my artistic self to flourish and, in addition, provided a great stress relief during peak exam season. I now know that the hours I spent perfecting my pieces for my grade 8 were worthwhile as I was awarded with a huge sense of pride and achievement. My participation in my Trinity qualification gifted me with an essential lesson of the importance of patience and perseverance which I transfer to all areas of my life. 

What's next for you?

At the moment, I am working towards both my grade 6 in singing and trumpet. In relation to piano, I hope to keep teaching and inspiring other young people to nurture their talents. In addition to this, I would love to start preparing for a Trinity performance diploma in piano as I believe the repertoire available to me with such a qualification would allow me to fine tune my technique and explore a wide variety of more complex pieces.

What are your career aims? 

To be honest, as my GCSE exams loom ever closer, I am at a crossroads in my school life.  Whatever the future brings, I know one thing is for certain, music, specifically the piano, will feature strongly in my future career.

Have you got any advice for other young people working towards an Classical and Jazz qualification?

I’m going to state the obvious here and say what we’ve all heard at least a million times before… practise, practise, practise! I know that it may seem tedious, laborious and quite simply boring but trust me when I say in order to reap the rewards, have patience, persevere and practise. Also, I would advise everyone to listen. Listen as much as possible. Listen to all genres, Baroque, Jazz, Romantic, Classical… anything, just listen. If you hear about a concert in your local town, go. You never know what may inspire you next or what new piece you may discover. 

My main motto is that it is important to seize every opportunity that we are presented with.  Listening to another musician’s interpretation of a piece allows us to appreciate a different perspective of the piece which we may never have noticed before and this develops our creativity, allowing us to carefully develop our own craft and our own trademark style of playing, so that we can influence our own performances.

Read more about the talented young people selected to be featured as part of the TrinityTalent Class of 2019.

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