Heather excels in piano exam

Heather McQuarrie played her way to the number one position at the Rock School International Music and Performance Art piano exam board.

The 10-year-old from the Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg in Auckland Park said she expected to score 80 per cent at the most, and was surprised when she actually scored 94 per cent for her exam.

“I am very happy about how well I did,” she said with a big smile.

Heather, a resident of Windsor Glen, said she started playing the piano about four years ago because her older sister Beth (13) also plays. She said she would like to play overseas, especially in Scotland, which is where her father is originally from.

Heather’s father, Blair, said that he and his wife Adel were surprised at how well Heather did in her piano exam because she does not seem particularly interested in it. “We have to force her to practise sometimes,” Blair said laughing. He said Heather was nonchalant about her exam and to their surprise, she did very well. “She does not talk about her piano skills much, she is not a boastful child,” he added.

Blair said Heather does not necessarily come from a musical background, but he plays the guitar a bit and has exposed her to music since she was little. He did mention that the family supports her music career as long as she does well at school.

Heather said she used to play the violin but that got in the way of her studies. “I would like to go back to playing the violin again,” she said. Even with her musical talent, Heather said she would like to be a chef or a veterinarian. “Balancing my schoolwork and playing the piano is important for me,” she added.

She said she loves animals and helps out at the Johannesburg Zoo once a month to feed the animals and clean the cages.

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