VCE Season of Excellence The VCE Season of Excellence is a five-month annual festival showcasing outstanding work created by VCE students as part of their studies. We congratulate Jesse Ash, Sejune Park and Kevin Wang on being included in this celebration of talented students who completed their VCE in 2020.
Jesse’s creation for Product Design and Technology was exhibited at the Melbourne Museum, while Sejune and Kevin were recognised at a concert for Top Class Music at the Melbourne Recital Centre earlier this year. The Recital Centre didn’t have an organ, so Kevin recorded his
performance beforehand at St Paul’s Cathedral.
In 2020, I completed Units 3 and 4 of VCE Music Performance on the Viola. Following my Year 12 examinations, I undertook an audition to perform at the Top Class Music concert. I was lucky enough to be selected and performed Blues For Benni by Eduard Putz. Having the opportunity to perform
at the Melbourne Recital Centre while also meeting a wide range of other musicians on the night was an amazing experience. None of it would have been possible without the help of my teachers, Ms Stanic and Mrs McCoppin, as well as my accompanist, Mr Jones.
Such were the words of my teacher. Painful, but true. I had let my practice turn into a passive twiddle of fingers, and instead of creating music, I was merely playing notes. Bitter, but determined, I went home, this time following my teacher’s recommendations to a tee. It was hard, and excruciatingly boring to work on ten bars for an hour, but eventually, I found the music. In fact, that same teacher
now refers to me as one of her ‘success stories’.
My VCE experience was Product Design. I spent every lunchtime and spare period in the D&T lab working on my project – whether that involved designing parts on CAD, operating the laser cutter, or nailing it together. During lockdown, when the product was at home with me, I became absorbed with
improving it. Over the third‑term break, the last few weeks of crunch before it was due, I was putting in 12 to 16 (and one 26!) hour days. I was proud once it was done, of course, but never more so than when it was selected for Top Designs.
We asked these three students about their experiences during the VCE and what it was like to be selected for the VCE Season of Excellence.
Sejune Park
Kevin Wang
‘I can recommend you another teacher, but if you don’t do what they say, I doubt they’ll be very happy either.’
However difficult, or hopeless it may seem at some points, working hard, but more importantly doing so correctly and consistently will yield results. And while those words were painful to hear, and despite the crushing disappointment I felt, they were necessary for me to get back on track, learn from my mistakes and reap the rewards.
Jesse Ash
July 2021 | 7
