“88 Keys” or “Chops” is going to have to become Grade 9 Canmore Collegiate High School student Emilie Gauthier’s nickname after receiving one of the highest marks in the province from the Canadian Conservatory of Music.
“I started playing piano when I was in kindergarten,” Gauthier said on the beginnings of her musical journey.
“I’ve done a few piano exams before, Grades 1 and Grade 3 and last year I did my Grade 4 exam – and that’s the one I got a really good mark on I guess.” Gauthier said modestly. The mark in question was a 94, and brought a heap of praise from Music Magic Studio’s Corina Strim, who has been Gauthier’s music teacher since the beginning.
“It’s a bit of everything, but mostly classical,” Gauthier said about the material she studies on a daily basis. “You have to take a proficiency test with an independent instructor, with the test taking place in Calgary or Edmonton.”
Gauthier takes the proficiency test every other year, with a test usually being around 30 minutes, and says the testing process can be fairly nerve racking when facing a panel.
“You usually do around six pieces and scales and some other technical things and it can make you pretty nervous,” Gauthier said.
“We’ve been working together since she was five,” Strim said on their teacher/student relationship. “When she was probably eight is when she started into the Conservatory Canada curriculum and she’s been working her way up through the different grades. And taking a few exams here and there, you have the option to take a proficiency exam when you feel you are ready.
“The way I work with my students is they do an exam one year and then have the next year off from exams and work through the next level grade, but don’t necessarily do the exam. This routine has garnered high achievement for Emilie, earning a top mark in her last test from the Canadian Conservatory.
“Emilie’s just one of those students that in her track record has always performed well under pressure – she’s always been able to pull things together and rise to the occasion and can recover well under pressure. She had a great exam and she put in a lot of work.”
Gauthier and Strim plan to spend the year going over grades 5 and 6 material, with 88 Keys – make that Gauthier – taking her next test in 2015
