Dollard teen No. 1 in Quebec piano exam
KATHRYN GREENAWAY MONTREAL GAZETTE
Cyril Nader, 17, started playing piano at the Tracey Steele Music Academy in Roxboro four years ago.
On June 8, the Dollard- desOrmeaux resident took his Level 2 Royal Academy of Music exam.
On Feb. 1, during a ceremony at Koerner Hall in Toronto, Nader was presented with a Royal Academy of Music gold medal for receiving the highest Level 2 mark in the province.
When Steele heard that Nader had scored a near- perfect 95 per cent, she called him, but it was his dad who answered.
“My dad played a trick on me and told me I’d failed,” Nader said. “Then I talked to Tracey and she told me my mark. I didn’t think it was a big deal until I heard how excited she was. So I guess the pressure is on for the next exam.”
Last year, 45,000 students took Royal Conservatory of Music exams in Quebec and Ontario.
During the exam Nader was marked on level- appropriate technical requirements, sight reading and playing from ear. He received a perfect score for his playing from ear. He also played the Minuet en rondeau by Jean- Philippe Rameau; Penguin by Canadian composer Linda Niamath; The Argument by Gordon A. McKinnon and The Wind by Chee- Hwa Tan. He scored perfect marks for Penguin and The Argument.
Nader played trumpet while attending Collège-Ste- Anne- deLachine. He also played tennis and was a member of the swim club, but once he started piano lessons at the academy, he became piano- focused very quickly.
He is now studying health sciences at Marianopolis College and channels his energy into piano practice and homework.
But why would a 13- year- old pick piano and want to learn Baroque repertoire instead of picking up a guitar to learn the latest guitar lick by Jack White? In a nod to goodnatured sibling rivalry, his sister plays the guitar, that’s why. There was no way he was going to play guitar, too.
“I had good friends who played piano and I was a little jealous listening to them,” Nader said. “I wanted to play, too. When I began to learn, it was super cool.”
Steele said Nader “showed talent right from the beginning.
“He’s a fast learner. He has great co- ordination and he’s a motivated performer.”
Steele organizes an annual Christmas concert for her 110 students — Nader played Billy Joel’s Piano Man at the last concert — and she takes her students to perform at seniors’ residences. The more a student performs, the easier it is to learn how to cope with performance stress.
“We also do mock piano exams and make lots of noise in the background so the students learn how to play through the distractions,” Steele said.
Steele has always made a point of pairing up more advanced piano students with beginners. It helps the senior students learn the teaching ropes and it inspires the new players to listen and learn.
“It’s good for the ( new) students to hear someone nearer their own age say what I’ve been telling them to do again and again,” Steele said. And what would that be? “Bend your fingers and count,” Steele said with a laugh. “Cyril has long fingers. He’ll get more power if he bends them when he plays.”
Arielle Dascal, 18, just completed her Level 6 Royal Conservatory exam. She’s studying pure and applied science at John Abbott College and she is Nader’s mentor. Steele noticed the two had good energy when they practised together, so she has encouraged the mentorship. The teens have forged a strong friendship and spend hours together at the music academy pushing each other to improve.
“It’s fun,” Nader said as Dascal looked on. “There isn’t a lot of pressure. We just push each other to be better performers. And working with Arielle is useful. She’s done way more ( piano) exams than me. She tells me stuff.”
Nader isn’t sure what he wants to do after finishing CEGEP. He’ll continue to study piano at the academy, but he’s fairly certain he won’t be studying music at university.
“But winning the medal was great,” Nader said. “It was confirmation that I was able to complete the exam and do well.”
I had good friends who played piano and I was a little jealous listening to them. … When I began to learn, it was super cool.