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Schools

Making Music is Series Business for Two Manchester Students

Illing Middle School student Rachel Penna-Scheer and St. James School student Julia Brennan pass prestigious Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music exam.

For students of music, it is always uplifting to get positive feedback on a performance, but how does one really know how well he or she is progressing?

Two Manchester students, Julia Brennan and Rachel Penna-Scheer, had the opportunity to find out recently when they took the Royal Academy of Music Exams, a prestigious and rigorous international test administered by the Associated Boards of Royal Schools of Music in Great Britain. Christopher Swan from ABRSM in England administered the test at in Manchester, the only school in Connecticut that offers the exam to its music students. Both girls attend the Academy for music lessons, Brennan for piano, and Penna-Scheer for the viola.

"Participants take exams one level at a time. There are eight levels plus a diploma program," said Paula Penna, Director of MusicMakers.  "[The exam] gives a structured, sequential format to keep track of progress and inspires [students] practice time and motivation."

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"I started with piano when I was eight years old. That was six years ago," said Julia Brennan, an eighth grade student at St. James School who took the third level piano exam. "Last year was the first time I received an invitation from the Board to take the exam, and I accepted right away," she said.

Brennan learned she passed the test, narrowly missing the "with merit" distinction by only three points.

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"The test challenged me greatly and has given me the confidence to perform in front of a judge," said Brennan. "Before taking the tests, I used to prepare for recitals, but this exam helps you prepare better and get more into the dynamics and techniques of your music," she said.

As for her future aspirations with music, Brennan said she is uncertain if she would want to make it a career, but will always want to make music a part of her life.

"I really love performing and I want to be able to play for others and to entertain them," said Brennan.

As Penna's daughter, Rachel Penna-Scheer, an eighth grade student at Illing Middle School, has enjoyed significant musical influence.

A member of the Illing Middle School Orchestra and the school's chamber Orchestra, Penna-Scheer began her musical studies with her mother's Mini-MusicMakers program at the age of 2-1/2.  After studying piano for three years, she switched to the viola.  Besides regularly helping out at the Academy, she will also be starting voice lessons this summer and hopes to follow in both her parents' footsteps with a career in music.

"My MusicMakers friends did the exam last year, and they said it really helped their musicianship, so when my Mom asked me to do the exam, I said yes," said Penna-Scheer. "I want to major in music in college, so I want to learn as much as I can about music now. I have to prepare for college auditions in a few years so taking these tests helps me to manage nerves," she said.

Besides the voice lessons she will be taking this summer, Penna-Scheer said she would also like to try her hand at guitar.

"I liked the special workshops we did all year [at MusicMakers] because they helped my sight-reading and my aural skils. And I made new friends there, so it was fun," said Penna-Scheer.

 Penna said that on a strategic level for college resumes, participation in the ABRSM exam program sets music students apart from other potential students, and opens the doors to various music scholarship programs. She added that while some people may at first be turned off by the idea of a more structured approach to music lessons,  many come to realize that greater structure results in more fun.

"It is not superficial fun – it is the fun that comes from truly knowing your instrument, playing more interesting pieces, and from accomplishing something important," said Penna.

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