A Song Room scholarship student shines at Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
David Grimaldos is an 11 year old autistic child who was discovered by The Song Room Teaching Artist, Chris Lewis, during his time at St Albans Meadows Primary School in 2010 to have ‘perfect pitch’. David had studied drums before, but during his time in The Song Room program had shown a keen interest in learning violin. His scholarship has allowed David to receive a high quality violin from Allans Music + Billy Hyde as well as receiving tutoring and workbooks from a local violin teacher in his area. In addition to this, David and his family were given the opportunity to attend the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance ‘Ears Wide Open’ on 14th June, 2011 and had the rare opportunity of meeting MSO conductor and acclaimed Australian composer, Richard Gill.
Before the performance, David’s father, Rod Grimaldos commented that his family would never have expected to have received an opportunity such as the The Song Room scholarship and before this scholarship, they had never attended a performance like that of the MSO. They had never before been inside a building as beautiful as the Melbourne Town Hall. This event was incredibly an incredibly moving and memorable experience.
“Tuesday's experience was a wonderful opportunity for not only David but the rest of us. The concert gave us all a glimpse into the obscure (for us) world of classical music. Tuesday night was one of those opportunities where he was exposed to classical music in the raw. I've tried many times 'selling him the idea through forced listening of ABC Classical radio' to no avail. After Tuesday he has been practising his violin with more gusto. His demeanour during the concert was of a child let loose in a candy store and the privilege for him to be able to listen to a world class orchestra/conductor whilst dissecting two composer's works will have a lifelong impact on him. David relished seeing and hearing the MSO and then meeting Richard Gill. Once again thank you for your support.” David’s father, Rod Grimaldos.
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