Anna Da Silva Chen

My audition

I became serious about the violin almost as soon as I picked it up. In the year I was to complete Year 12, I was a grand finalist in the ABC Young Performers Awards and busily preparing for many other performances and competitions.

I knew without a doubt that I wanted to study music, so I began looking for an alternative course and completed an Advanced Diploma of Music at TAFE, enabling me to audition for the Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the Conservatorium.

I prepared for my audition in the same way I would prepare for any performance – with focused, diligent practice and maintaining a positive mindset to combat nerves.

Where I am now

I've been pursuing a career in classical music performance since I began learning the violin at the age of eight.

After spending six years as a child at the Open Academy Rising Stars program at the Con and beginning lessons with Associate Professor Alice Waten in 2014, studying for a Bachelor of Music there seemed to be the ideal choice.

I feel very lucky to be studying with my teacher – she nurtures my passion for music and has never failed to provide me with crucial theoretical and practical knowledge essential to the development of my playing.

My experience

Studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music both as a pre-college and university student has been a whirlwind experience and I feel privileged to be surrounded by such a variety of students and teachers. I am amazed by them and infinitely interested in what music means to them, as well as how their ideas about music relate to or differ from my own. I have gained so many memories with them that I will cherish forever.

My future

Although it will be a challenge finding the right teacher and being successful in an audition, I am hoping to study a master's degree overseas, preferably somewhere in Germany or Austria. I am also keen to return to Australia for concerts as often as possible, hoping to maintain a busy schedule of solo and chamber music concerts.

My advice

The Con is one of the leading music institutions in Australia, with an amazing faculty and a wide range of facilities. My advice to any prospective student is simply to go for it, work hard and support your peers whenever you possibly can. I believe the opportunities we gain from studying here are what we make of them.