A year had passed quickly, and we find ourselves at the end of the month of December 2023. On behalf of the principal and all teachers in L & J, I would first like to congratulate all students who have passed their practical and/or theory exams for year 2023 be it Graded or the Diploma. Not surprisingly, L & J has a very balanced preference of the students for both the face-to-face and the digital/performance mode of exam. The majority of students had passed with ‘Merit’ or ‘Distinction’. Well done to these students and I’m very sure their hard work was rewarded.

The Value of Music Exam Certificate

Regarding the subject of music examination, it comes to my attention that not many students or parents are informed about the value that the music exam certificate carries (be it ABRSM or Trinity College London). Therefore, in this annual newsletter, allow me to give you a simplified brief on how these certificates could help students in the application for undergraduate studies offered by tertiary education entities locally, in the UK or other Commonwealth nations.

Every Graded and Diploma certificate of both the ABRSM or the Trinity College London is accredited and regulated by OFQUAL according to UK’s National Qualification Framework (NQF). You need not be overwhelmed by these buzz words. Just read on and allow me to provide you a mock scenario below in layman’s term.

I’m sure in the Klang Valley, many students aspire to enroll into an established college/university for undergraduate studies, to obtain a degree as a goal (be it locally or abroad). Since Malaysia is an ex-UK colonial country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, our country shares many similarities to UK when it comes to the system for entry to higher education, and many of our local colleges do offer twining programs to well-established UK (or Australian) universities through the same system. For all enrolments to all UK (or UK related) universities, the enrolment would have to go through an agency called the UCAS (Universities & Colleges Admissions Service) in the UK. They are like the gate keeper for all university entry applications. Be it universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Nottingham, etc. all applications along with the A-Level/STPM results would have to be first scrutinized by the folks in UCAS. In short, universities will not entertain “direct” application.

Let’s say, one of the courses in the University of Nottingham requires a student to have the A-Level score of AAB (UCAS will associate each score with a numerical value). A student by the fantasy name of Mark would like to enroll to one of the courses offered by this university and only have his A-Level score of ABB, which is slightly below the requirement. Mark shouldn’t give up because he had obtained an ABRSM certificate by completing his exam on Cello Grade 8 and had passed with a Merit (which carries a UCAS point of 70). With the ABRSM Cello Grade 8 certificate at hand, Mark can then attach this certificate along with his A-Level results in his application to further boost his UCAS points score, thus enhancing his eligibility to be qualified for the enrolment to the desired course in the mentioned university.

This system of qualification doesn’t only apply to UK universities, many of the universities in Australia too share the same system of entry, that goes for some of the universities in United States of America too. The eligibility to this entry system is not limited to only classical music certificate; for those who took up ballet lessons and have undergone exams under the umbrella of RAD (one of the many examples), these certificates provide legit UCAS points as well. By the way, L & J is proud to have a real walking example of a student who have successfully secured a scholarship to one of the prestigious universities in USA early this year by submitting along with the cello exam certificate. L & J did much ground works along with the student’s supportive parent, the reward was well worth the effort.

Some of you may be thinking: “oh, what if I could get every exam done from Grade 1 to Grade 8 and accumulate these points, wouldn’t that boost my credit scoring?” very smart of you; but it doesn’t work this way. UCAS will only consider the points of the highest scoring non-academic accredited exam subject which you have. For example, if you have both the certificate for Grade 6 and Grade 8, UCAS will only take the Grade 8 points into consideration. I truly hope this provide some clarity and further assert that the exam certificates which you have earned is not just for wall decoration.

The bottom line is, you need not be a certificate collector, and neither is it advisable to sit for the exam each and every grade. But do take note that the Grade 6 to Grade 8 exams certificates carries substantial amount of UCAS points. Just strategize and invest your efforts prudently.

New Instruments

I would also like to congratulate all students who have upgraded their music instruments this year. I see a surge in instruments upgrade especially for those who are in the mid to higher grade. This clearly shows that these students have “out grown” their preliminary instrument and would require an instrument which provides better capacity to achieve the playability of more demanding repertoire.

Here are some tips for instrument care. Since we live in a humid country where rain is frequent, for those with the string instrument (violin, viola, cello, double bass), you may want to get some charcoal dehumidifying pack from your nearby convenient store e.g. Daiso and place them into your violin box. 2 packs of these would be sufficient. This will greatly enhance the sound and the responsiveness of the instrument while keeping it from becoming moldy.

Same goes for the upright pianos, do yourself a favor by getting some dehumidifying containers and place them in the bottom box of the piano. Do change them every six months. This will prevent fungus and other undesirable conditions to the piano, such as expansion of keys causing “sticky” key issues. 2 small boxes of these will be sufficient.

And please clock in your hours in playing them in order to make the new instrument “sing” better.

Looking Forward to Year 2024

Year 2024 will be exciting. Our principal Mr. Lam Siu Chong had the opportunity to worked with Mr. Chin San Sooi, a well-known librettist and musical stage play creative director in Malaysia. These profound gentlemen had composed and orchestrated Malaysia’s very first “Western styled” Opera. In my opinion, this Opera will be epic and will be estimated to premier before the second quarter of year 2024, working along with the P. J. Philharmonic Orchestra and with many talented Malaysian singers. I’ll refrain from providing much spoiler details. Anyway, I hope you are as excited and I am.

All-in-All

These will be it for now which I would like to communicate to all of you before we wrap up year 2023 and take another bold leap into the new year with much uncertainty awaits. Always be anchored in truth, be reasonable minded, don’t just practice blindly, but practice with a purpose, with the right approach and be disciplined.

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year ahead. Cheers.

Cordially,
Max Lam
Head of Operations