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Practice pays off for Appleton girl who won piano gold

Ten-year-old Katie Willis' piano practice time — twice a day, every day, over five years of lessons — paid off this year when she received the highest score in Atlantic Canada on her first Royal Conservatory of Music exam.

Willis won for her piano performance of Shadows by Dennis Alexander and Martha Mier.

The Appleton girl began the program this year, and all that practice and her love of piano didn't mean she wasn't nervous going into the exam.

"It was really exciting, but nerve-wracking at times because I got to see all these other wonderful players do their part," she said.

"I was like, oh my God, I can't do this anymore. I'm really nervous."

She didn't let nerves throw her off, though, and that paid off in her score — and a trip to Halifax earlier this month to collect her gold medal at the RCM awards ceremony.

'I was freaking out'

Katie's mother Donna Willis, who travelled with her to Halifax for the ceremony, was thrilled to see her daughter do so well on her first exam after all the work she's put in.

"You feel after a while that all those trips in over the road, waiting outside for piano lessons, going back and forth, going to the Kiwanis, going to all these things that you see her do," she said.

'To see her get that kind of achievement felt really great.' - Donna Willis

"And you think at the time that you're just trying to make a well-rounded individual and build some self-confidence. So to see her get that kind of achievement felt really great."

But it wasn't just work that got Katie to the ceremony — a self-administer pep talk before her exam also helped.

"I just thought, okay, I'm one of them now. I did good too. So, it's my turn to play the part," Katie said of what she told herself before the exam.

"I've been, 'Okay Katie, you can do this. You're a wonderful piano player and you can do this.'"

That combination of hard work and confidence paid off with the big win in just her first year in the RCM program.

Leigh Anne Power
Leigh Anne Power

"I was freaking out. I'm like, I did this! All of that hard work paid off," she said of getting the results.

The trip to Halifax with her mother for the awards ceremony was a great end to that year.

"It was beautiful. All of the things were beautiful," Kaite said. "And we stayed in this really nice hotel. It was amazing,"

That "really nice" hotel had a piano, so she spent her daily practice time during the trip entertaining the other guests.

Katie is already looking forward to next year's exam, and hopes to have a career in music some day.

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