BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
It’s been close to two years since Oliver She took out his win at the last Australian National Piano Award in Shepparton.
Filling his time with a research degree at the Queensland Conservatorium, tutoring from home, and competing in the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition (scoring second place), Oliver has been enjoying a steady career climb in the music industry.
“I can’t believe it’s been almost two years and we’re on the cusp of the next award already – time certainly flies!” Oliver laughs.
Oliver is the most recent winner of this award, which takes place every two years and celebrates talent in piano performance. Importantly, it gives an opportunity to help launch the careers of those under 35 years old – a time when this form of recognition can bring great value to a musician’s early-career profile.
It also offers an enormous $65,000 worth of prize money to its finalists.
Having entered in the competition three times, Oliver knows from experience that the Australian National Piano Award is a “vital node of support and encouragement for young Australian pianists, providing them with a platform on which they are able to showcase the fruits of their daily work”.
For Oliver, this also meant the opportunity to set aside his own $27,000 in prize money for the future progression of his daily work. As he approaches his 30s, the artist made the decision to save the win for his big career goal.
“My dream would be to set up a piano teaching studio…every bit of support is helpful.”
It’s hard to look past such substantial prize offerings – though the other benefits of this award are also valuable to those who win, or who simply participate and do their best in the finals at Shepparton.
Oliver describes the award as one of Australia’s most prestigious. And, aside from the recognition it afforded him, he says it boosted his confidence because it tested his “consistency, versatility, and endurance – all qualities essential to a career in performance”.
“I also like to think of myself as an ambassador to the profession, using my credential as recipient of an ANPA award to promote classical music, and inspire the next generation of musicians.”
So what’s it like to compete in such a major award, anyway? As with any performance, the pressure is on. But Oliver also highlights that the culture of this award helps to generate support, rather than fear, which put him “completely at ease”.
“The fellow musicians – most of whom I know – were all very supportive of each other, and not once did I feel an atmosphere of ‘competition’, but rather as if it were a piano festival,” he recalls.
“The only times I got anxious was on stage, but that was because I have high expectations of myself when I perform.”
Still, Oliver gave himself plenty of time to prepare for the awards, having returned from a gap year and allowed himself space to practice at his own pace. Because he’d performed his repertoire in the past, he balanced his practice sessions with other activities to avoid burnout and keep alive his passion for the music itself.
“I think I spent more time away from the piano – reading scores, listening to recordings, and doing other non-musical things – just so I remained fresh when it came to the actual practice and, more importantly, when I performed.”
Of course, no matter how much one practices prior to a performance, there’s always the risk of messing up a part. And every musician should remind themselves that “mistakes are not the end of the world”.
Even though he took out a winning place, he admits to making a few bungles in each one of his performances at the competition! In some ways, this reveals a misconception about what adjudicators are looking for in an outstanding music performance.
“What judges are interested to hear is individuality, and the ability of a performer to communicate that in a convincing way,” Oliver argues.
“If you can bring a fresh perspective to a piece of music, that will often win you extra points.”
As Oliver wishes 2020 entrants “the best of luck”, he has a few final words of advice to impart.
“Treat it as a learning process, lower your expectations in relation to outcome, and you never know – surprises can sometimes happen!”
Entries for the 2020 Australian National Piano Award for Australian-based pianists aged 21-35 close on March 20. Visit the website to find out how you can apply.
Images of Oliver supplied.
