Ending on a high note

If there was ever a way to finish your last Eisteddfod, Prefect of the Arts, Eliza Kingston, certainly nailed the brief.

The talented violinist was awarded the Strings Championship Trophy, amongst numerous other accolades.

‘I played in five solo sections and received four firsts and a second,’ Eliza modestly said.

Eliza first picked up the violin at the age of four and said she’s been lucky enough to be under the guidance of Mrs Celia Egerton ever since. 

‘My parents used to drive in from the farm every week for an hour for me to do lessons with Mrs Egerton.

‘She could teach anywhere she wanted and, in my opinion, would be the best, but she chose to come to Toowoomba, and I count my lucky stars every day that she made that decision.

‘Your music teacher is like the third most important person in your life, after your parents, because you see them every single week for your entire life; they know everything

about you.’ 

Eliza was in Year 6 when she decided music was her future. Eliza and her father’s strong desire for her to wear the tartan found her applying for a scholarship at Fairholme College.

She says if she hadn’t been awarded the Marjorie Milliken Music Scholarship, she would never have had the opportunity to be a Fairholme girl.

‘Fairholme has improved my appreciation of music because if I hadn’t come to Fairholme, I wouldn’t have been given all those performance opportunities, and I would never have made it to that space where performing was enjoyable.

‘It’s also allowed me to meet many different people and make lifelong friends, which has completely changed my personality.

‘Dad always had this dream; he always wanted his only daughter to go to Fairholme, and here I am finishing Year 12.’

Eliza will pack up her life and move to Canberra next year after she received early entry to the ANU Medicine program, and while she prepares for life outside of school, Eliza says there’ll always be time for her violin.

‘I want to continue playing my violin, especially in chamber music. I can’t imagine life without music.’