14-year-old Poppy was nominated for her achievement in drums. Poppy achieved her Grade 8 Rock & Pop Drums with distinction, working with All Sorts of Music.
Poppy was nominated by Kate Griffin, her parent and the Director of the Music School. Kate said: "Having worked towards and submitted her Grade 8 Classical Drum Kit exam during the early part of lockdown 2020, Poppy decided to look at the Rock & Pop syllabus and set herself a challenge of learning and recording the exam within three weeks. Trying a different style of music after years of learning the classical grades was a challenge but Poppy worked hard to achieve her goal and gained a distinction at Grade 8 aged just 13-years-old. Poppy has also begun to teach some young students how to play the drum kit and is now looking to enter her first student for Trinity Grade 1 sharing her love of both the instruments and the exam process."
The Trinity judges added: "Although Poppy was nominated for Progress, the judges felt there was a clear demonstration of leadership with her commitment to teaching and her passion to pass her natural music ability on to others."
Poppy, how would you say your Trinity College London qualification has influenced your leadership skills and progress with your art?
Taking the Trinity exams has introduced me to styles I wouldn’t have known about otherwise and enabled me to enjoy genres I didn’t know I would! It gave me a wide variety of songs to play and ever since I started at Grade 1 and worked my way up, the structure of the exams has made progression easy to see and has given me a confidence boost each time I have passed an exam. It has also given me the confidence to work hard at my school exams and given me a chance to take music even further if I wish.
Has taking part in a Trinity qualification helped you develop your skills or future career?
Participating in the Trinity exams has given me something to work towards and a sense of achievement. It challenged me and when I managed to play things I thought I wouldn’t be able to do, it gave me great satisfaction in doing so. It made me realize to never give up if you want to accomplish something, especially when you think you won’t be able to do it and to always work hard towards your goals. The Trinity syllabus, for me, has been great at helping me develop something that I can use in my career and something that I hope to pass on to my students in the future.
Please tell us how you found the experience of recording a digital submission for music
Personally, the experience of recording the digital submission was a much easier process because it was a lot less stressful. In a face-to-face exam, it’s very nerve-racking as you are entering a room with someone you don’t know and I think that the fact the digital exam could take place in a familiar environment helped a lot.
What are the next steps for you following your qualification?
I am currently working towards a Trinity Performance Diploma in Drums. I hope to broaden the range of music that I can play even more and I am looking forward to taking this exam.
What are your career aims?
At the age of 14, it is very difficult to decide my future career, however, I really enjoy the arts and hope to do something within this field. I believe that music will play a big part in my career.
Have you got any advice for other young people working towards a Trinity qualification or Arts Award?
Keep persevering. Whether you’re a beginner or not, the most important thing to do is not give up and keep practising! You can never do too much practice. Also, make sure to enjoy your instrument and the songs you play as music is meant to be fun!
Read more about the talented young people selected to be featured as part of the TrinityTalent Class of 2020
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