From a young age, Yuna Cho just loved listening to music, and it was her enthusiasm which prompted her parents to encourage her to learn the piano.
Instantly falling in love with making music, four-year-old Yuna was eager to try her hand at other instruments, soon after taking up the violin and then the flute by the time she was in Year 1.
Now, despite only being in Year 7, Yuna demonstrates advanced musical skills equivalent to late high school year levels.
She has completed her Grade 8 AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) on piano, flute and violin and was awarded an AMusA (Associate in Music) for flute, major milestones which signify her high-level musical proficiency both in performance and music theory. She is now preparing to achieve diploma levels including CMus (Certificate in Music) for piano, AMus (Associate in Music) for violin and LMus (Licentiate) for flute.
Nurturing Yuna’s exceptional talents requires immense dedication and practice.
“I practise piano every morning for 30 minutes, and when I get home in the afternoon, I will practise violin and flute for an hour and 30 minutes. On the weekends, I do about four to five hours of lessons and practice, and during the school holidays, I practise for seven hours a day,” Yuna said.
With such an intense schedule, Yuna doesn’t have a lot of time to study at home, and so she is supported to balance her schoolwork with her music passion through the St Margaret’s Flyers Program for gifted and talented scholars, artists and athletes.
“The Flyers Program gives me additional time to study in the library during the school day, freeing me up to practise my instruments at home,” Yuna said.
She will also receive mentoring from St Margaret’s alumni and industry professionals and opportunities to explore topics such as audition preparation, efficient practice and performance techniques and career opportunities.
St Margaret’s Head of Performance Brad King said: “As Yuna moves through her years at St Margaret’s, she will also have the opportunity to mentor younger students (which is wonderful for our younger students), but also beneficial for Yuna as a means to further develop leadership capacity.”
The program’s support has allowed Yuna to maintain her academic excellence and this year she received an Honours award at the school’s Speech Night.
Being part of the music program has also helped Yuna to meet lots of girls and make new friends, while the many performance opportunities have helped build her confidence.
A member of several of the school’s strings and wind ensembles, Yuna has performed at events including Open Day, Open Morning, Speech Night, Classics in the Cathedral, the Soaring Upwards Festival and the Professional Women’s Network breakfasts.
This year, St Margaret’s Head of Performance nominated Yuna to participate in the Australian Honours Ensemble Program, a prestigious, selective music program run by Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium, which offered her intensive orchestral training with expert conductors and masterclasses with Griffith University academic staff, alongside the nation’s top young musicians.
Yuna is well on her way to achieving her goal of studying music at university.
“It’s a big dream, but I’d really like to one day be a university professor in music – either in flute or violin. Or maybe I could do both!” Yuna said.