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2024 Regional finalists

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Felix Kelly has been a part of the Christian College Geelong music program since 2017, participating in numerous school, and external bands on Tuba, Trombone and Piano. At the end of the academic year, Felix will have completed all four of the VCE Music subjects on offer as part of the new study design.  Moving into the future, he wishes to study music performance or composition with a focus on lower brass, and eventually teach music in a secondary or tertiary environment.

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Max Gear has been playing music since he was 6 and currently attends Year 10 at Christian College Geelong. He has a passion for music and has grown up studying and performing classical pieces. He been playing the Cello and Piano for 10 years. He is currently pursuing Grade 8 Piano and working towards Certificate of Performance in Cello.

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Joyce Qin is 10 years old and studying at The Geelong College. She started playing piano at five and in 2023 passed the AMEB Piano (comprehensive) Grade 7 examination with a high distinction. In the same year Joyce took part in the Geelong Eisteddfod under 12 piano solo and was awarded an Honourable mention. Joyce says piano is an enjoyment and also a challenge and she is looking forward to the competition and meeting the other competitors.

Harriet Carter-Williams began learning cello at 4. She is currently in year 9 at The Geelong College where she is an active member of the music ensembles program. She also learns piano and enjoys singing in contemporary music groups, choirs, and musical theatre productions. Harriet has been a member of the Melbourne String Ensembles Program since 2018 and recently returned from Germany and Czechia with the MSE, performing works based on Seasons by Australian First Nations Composers.

Runnerup
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Matthew Kweh Music has always been a part of Matthew’s life and it will always be.  Matthew has recently completed Grade 6 Music theory. He is currently preparing for LMusA in Piano and AMusA in violin. Matthew is a student at The Geelong College and is a member of the Senior School Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra. He plays as the first violin in Senior school string quartet. He is hoping to inspire the younger students to play an instrument and participate in school ensembles.

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Jason Jin is a 16 years old classical pianist originally from Nanjing, China, currently boarding at Geelong Grammar school. His influences are Romantic composers such as Chopin and Liszt. His music pushes boundaries in a reflective, intimate soundscape, choosing clarity over technique. He is taught by Lewis Zhou Chen, who helped him to achieve runner up in AYCMC 2023.

1st place
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Runnerup

Hannah Phung has loved playing the violin since she was six years old and is currently studying Bachelor of Music majoring in Violin Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium. She is a member of the Melbourne Conservatorium Philharmonic Orchestra and the Melbourne University Choral. In 2023 Hannah was awarded the Runner-Up Prize in the Australian Youth Classical Music Competition Regional section and she served as Music Captain at The Geelong College. She was the recipient of The Geelong College E R Scott Prize for Best Instrumentalist and the Humble Club Prize for Leadership and Contribution to music. In 2022, Hannah completed Units 3 and 4 VCE Music Performance.

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Felix Stanford began learning the trumpet in year 2 from Oscar Seftleben. He currently learns from Britteny Ling and has been playing the trumpet for 4 years. Felix performs each term on his trumpet and piano at the ‘Geelong Music Teachers Association’ recitals. Felix is a member of the Geelong Youth Choir and Geelong Community Band. Felix looks forward to attending ‘Geelong Summer Music Camp’ and ‘Border Music Camp’ each year. Felix’s favourite trumpet player is James Morrison and he aspires to playing in the RAAF band.

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My name is Peicheng (William) Zha, both my parents studied music in university. I started learning piano when I was four years old.  I passed the highest grade test of piano in China and studied in the professional music high school in China.

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Jas Bevacqua-Hall attends Christian College Geelong and is in Year 11.  Jas is studying Music Repertoire at school and has formed a love for the subject. She is currently studying towards her AMEB Associate Music Australia (AMusA Flute) and looks forward to growing her repertoire.

Runnerup
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Harrison Whelan I completed High School last year at Belmont High School, completing VCE Music Repetoire. I have been in the Geelong Concert Band as lead Flute/Piccolo in the Community Band and first or second flute in the senior band for different pieces for the past year. As a part of this I performed Chaminade’s Concertino as a solo piece at one of the concerts. I performed in Sydney at the South Pacific Music Festival which included a performance in the Opera House. I also have attended the Geelong Summer Music Camp both this year and last year as lead Flute/Piccolo. I am currently studying at The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music doing my first year of a Bachelor of Music Performance.

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Daniel Chen started to learn violin at 6 at Geelong Grammar School. He showed great progress during these early years and in 2022 played a movement from Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto for his music scholarship interview in Geelong Grammar School. Daniel received 65% scholarship (50% music and 15% extra Academic). Daniel is concertmaster of middle school symphony and first violin of a quartet. Early this year he was appointed concertmaster of Mckie strings. 

© 2025   The Australian Youth Classical Music Competition is undertaken by ACN 159 947 378 Limited as trustee for The Geelong Advertiser Music Scholarship Trust

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