Musical talent and hard work the keys to teen brothers’ winning ways
YOUNG pianist Joshua Han possesses immense talent which has seen him go places in the world of music.
Rouse Hill
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YOUNG pianist Joshua Han and his violin-playing elder sibling Oscar are musical prodigies whose talent is complemented by their passion and hard work.
The Beaumont Hills teenagers has been regularly starring at Australia’s biggest public entertainment event, the Sydney Eisteddfod since they were very young and have added more golds this year.
Joshua — whose elder brother Oscar is an accomplished violinist — remains modest despite a staggering number of honours, including the 2014 2014 Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, with the highest mark in the contest’s 28-year history.
In addition to his four wins this year, Joshua finished third in the prestigious Sydney Eisteddfod Alf and Pearl Pollard Memorial Instrumental Awards for Performance Excellence and second in the Chopin piano (15 and under).
“It was great to participate in yet another season of the Sydney Eisteddfod,” said Joshua, a finalist with Oscar in Australia’s Got Talent in 2013.
“Four first places, one second and one third makes me very happy, and this all contributes to my journey to being a musician.
“The most valuable experience for me, this year, would be the Any Age Russian Piano, where I played Islamey, by Mily Balakirev, as the event really challenged me, both in terms of the age of the competitors, as well as the piece I chose to play.
“Overall, I feel very happy this year in terms of music.”
Joshua played variations of Happy Birthday by Cyprien Katsaris and variations of a theme of Carmen, by Vladimir Horowitz in the Pollard Awards, which was taken out by cellist John Wu from Castle Hill.
He said his biggest win todate this year was taking out the BlueScope/WIN Network Open Age Piano Championships at the 2016 Wollongong Eisteddfod.
Both brothers are also taking part in the Gisborne International Competition in New Zealand in November.
For 15-year-old Oscar competing against older rivals is nothing intimidating and he showed it by winning four golds at the Sydney Eisteddfod and Wollongong Eisteddfods.
It included golds for the second successive year in the 19 and under category and the Jan Baxter Memorial Strings Scholarship.
“Later this year, I will be competing in the Gisborne International Competition for musicians aged up to 25 years,” Oscar said.
“Despite many of my competitors being slightly older, I am more than ready to compete in this prestigious event, and hope it proves to be one of the best experiences I’ve had in the world of music.
“What means more to me than the medals, is the friendships that I make throughout my time playing music, and I can only imagine that this would continue encouraging me to pursue music as a potential career.”
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