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Sax player of 14 scores a record 100% in exam
Ellen Widdup26 Jan 2009
A 14-year-old boy has become the youngest person to score 100 per cent in the highest grade music examm.
Dan Searjeant was given full marks in his grade eight saxophone exam, which is normally taken by much older students.
He has only been playing the instrument for four years but examiners at Trinity College London, said his performance and knowledge of musical theory had been faultless.
Dan, who won a place in the junior jazz section of the Royal Academy of Music last summer and practises for three hours every night, said: “I was shocked when I got the result. The examiner had to phone the exam board to check she could give that mark. It used to just be a hobby but in the last two or three years I've got into it much more.
“The turning point came when I spoke to another saxophone student who was really good but said he wished he'd practised more when he was a teenager. I didn't want to reach 20 and regret I hadn't done it.”
Dan, from Carlton, Suffolk, a pupil at Linton Village College, also plays the flute and keyboard and is studying for his GCSEs. He dreams of winning a place at the Royal Academy of Music after leaving school and eventually becoming a professional jazz musician. “I love playing the saxophone because to me it's full of expression and I can express myself through it,” he said. “I'd love to make a career of it and play in a small jazz group but there are so many great players out there it's very competitive.
“I'm still practising hard and I've recently started composing as well.”
Dan's saxophone tutor Phil Marshall, who has been teaching the instrument for more than 16 years, said the teenager was “amazingly gifted” and added: “You never imagine that one of your pupils will gain 100 per cent so Dan has redefined things.”
A spokesman for Trinity College London said: “He is unique because of his age. Our records date back more than 100 years and people have got 100 per cent — but it is rare.”
Reader views (4)
DAN! I am so proud of you ...what a remarkable accomplishment, and what skill! Dad would say that old Martin has never been in more capable hands. It was waiting for you a long, long time.
Bravo Zulu, Dan .. WELL DONE.
- Bobby Jean Simkins, Missouri, USA, 29/01/2009 03:34
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Good on him; as Arthur Rubinstein famously said when asked how to get Carnegie Hall; "practice, practise, practice".
- Casper Slides, France at the moment, 26/01/2009 21:43
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Bravo! The sax is a wonderful instrument and not lauded nearly enough. Thanks to Dan, his college and his tutor it is now on an even higher note!
- Peter Seekings-Foster, Mildenhall, Suffolk., 26/01/2009 17:43
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I'm 14 and also play the sax, I'm on grade 5, so to me this is quite inspiring.
- Callum Skib, Brentwood, England, 26/01/2009 16:55
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