I first met Bianca in April 2002, along with her mother Anna, who accompanied Bianca to her lessons each week. I remember being surprised by how well spoken and enthusiastic this little 5 year old girl was, asking me questions and keen to answer questions I had for her. It was the start of another musical journey, watching another little one tackle the piano, and me as a teacher doing my best to keep her interested and motivated enough to do the work I set for her each week.
Bianca was an easy student to teach, she learnt skills easily, grasped the concepts and mastered techniques quickly. I soon realised though, that Bianca possessed an incredible willingness to improve in every aspect of her music. She started coming to her lessons eager to show me the latest song she had worked out by ear. She started jamming with her father, playing at church, performing at parties and doing everything she could to improve. All this whilst still attending primary school.
Bianca enrolled at Sacred Heart College in 2009 and in her time at the school performed with the Chamber ensemble and also the School Orchestra. She enrolled at Oxygen College as well and attained Certificate IV in Music Business which allowed her to collaborate and perform with other musicians like herself. She performed at music festivals and also composed and recorded a CD as part of that course.
In 2014 Bianca decided to do VCE Solo Music Performance. I discussed with her the level of commitment required for this subject, but Bianca had already decided, telling me “It’s what I do, It’s my thing”. There was no turning back. She completed Grade 7 ANZCA with honours, Theory exams with first class honours and enjoyed the challenge that VCE music gave her. She often would come to lessons last year having learnt extra pieces “for fun”.
Almost 13 years later, I was honoured to help present Bianca with the Oxygen Student Of The Year Award for 2014, and I am fortunate to still be giving her weekly lessons, as we work towards Grade 8. She loves playing jazz and popular standards, enjoys Boogie, Blues and Ragtime, and plays ballads with more emotion than just about anyone I know.
Recently I asked Bianca what she would like to achieve next with her music, and she told me that she would like to continue performing and also would like to pass on the enjoyment that music has given to her onto others.
Tony Musella