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Gr-8 result for Thurso musician


By Jean Gunn

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Katrina Gordon is delighted to have passed her Grade 8 exam with merit.
Katrina Gordon is delighted to have passed her Grade 8 exam with merit.

Katrina Gordon has passed her Grade 8 piano with merit raising over £5000 in the process for the Scottish Schools Orchestra Trust (SScOT.

The Thurso musician set herself the challenge of working through her piano exams from Grade 1-8 within a year as part of an epic fundraiser.

She sat her final exam on Wednesday, May 5, giving people the chance to watch her performance live online and she received her results yesterday (Thursday, May 13).

For her Grade 8 the local composer chose Mozart's piano sonata K282 just because she felt she should give it a try, Tchaikovsky's October from The Seasons as it was a piece she had played with the Caithness Orchestra and Gershwin Prelude No.2 as she really loved it. Her rendition of the three pieces resulted in a score of 78 out of 100 giving her a pass with merit.

She explained that with the Music Teachers' Board (MTB) those sitting their grades can play any piece on their list or take advantage of a free choice of any piece set at that grade allowing a wider variety.

"That suited it me because I cannot play fast yet," said Katrina. She added that the online system also suits children as they can play pieces that they like if they have been submitted and approved.

Although relieved to have passed, Katrina said: "To be honest, the process is always much more important than the result. For me the result was not the big thing – but some people were only going to donate if I passed.

"It has been a wonderful process – the whole year has given an insight into what it takes to be a pianist. I have still a long way to go, but least I have made a start. I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has donated in support of the SScOT."

Her goal was to raise £5000 and she has surpassed that with a total so far of £5335 with donations still being taken on her fundrasing page at https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/couch_to_grade_8_piano

SScOT runs non-auditioned residential courses in orchestral and wind band playing for children during the summer holidays.

Over the years Katrina has had a number of failed attempts at playing the piano, and is more known for her skills on the bassoon. However, a "mild" brush with Covid-19 just before everyone went into lockdown last March meant she was unable to play her favourite wind and brass instruments.

Around 45 people watched live as the professional musician submitted her recording and the video on Facebook has received nearly 1000 views since.

The video can still be viewed by clicking here.

Related story: Katrina Gordon takes on couch to Grade 8 piano challenge


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