Sung set for Swedish sojourn
Picking up an instrument as a child is by no means an uncommon pursuit – but turning it into a career? That’s an altogether rarer endeavour. But for Lilyfield resident Alistair Sung, what began as childhood enthusiasm has blossomed into a highly promising career, which is about to take the next big step.
In mid-August, Alistair will be packing his bags and heading to Sweden to begin a masters degree in cello performance at the renowned Swedish Music Academy. The academy emphasises practical performance experience alongside professional orchestras and ensembles, and provides an opportunity for Sung to benefit from the tuition of some of the best in the world.
Not that high-quality instruction is an entirely new experience for Sung. As part of his Arts/Music degree at the University of New South Wales, he studied cello for a year at the Australian National University in Canberra, under renowned Australian cellist David Perreira. He has also completed master classes with the likes of Michel Strauss, Uzi Weisel and Nicolas Altstaedt, and performed with the Sydney Youth Orchestra, the Performing Arts Unit Symphony Orchestra, and been a member of the string quartet, ‘Strings on Sydney’. But the beginnings of the story, at least, would be familiar to any number of families.
“I started when I was six years old,” he said. “My older brother actually started on the violin beforehand, and my parents thought it would be a natural fit for me too – but I wasn’t too keen on it, apparently! They took me to an orchestral performance – I think it was actually a Balmain Symphonia performance – and told me to pick an instrument that I liked! Apparently, I hovered over near the cellos, and the decision was made…”
From the beginning, then, Alistair’s parents have been integral to the aspiring cellist’s career, with a tale doubtless familiar to many musical parents. “They’ve been amazingly supportive throughout the whole process,” Sung said. “They’ve driven me to lessons, before I could drive myself, and I think they’ve been to pretty much every single performance I’ve ever done!”
The effort has paid off. Alistair travelled to Sweden in March to undertake auditions – a choice motivated, in part, by the fact his current teacher studied in Denmark. “I’m very keen on a lot of the cello players that have come out of that part of the world,” Sung said. “They were really lovely people, very friendly, and the school seemed to have a great atmosphere – and it all went through, basically!”
But as one who did the whole musical – indeed, cello – thing for a good chunk of my formative years, I hesitate to ask the next question, lest it reprise painful memories. Just how did he maintain the will to keep practising in those teenage years?
“It’s probably a combination of a couple of things,” he said cheerfully. “Firstly, my teacher, Marcus Hartstein, is definitely one of the best in Australia – he’s just so captivating. Regardless of what was going on during those teenage years, he was still able to keep me interested in music. The other thing that contributed, though, was that I went to Newtown High School, which was a performing arts class, and I was involved in so many things I didn’t really have time to second-guess myself. It was a really healthy environment to be in, I think – it was almost as though everyone was doing something.”
Earlier this month, Alistair performed a farewell concert at the Hunter Baillie Church in Annandale. To help Alistair fund his studies in Sweden, visit http://tinyurl.com/supportalistair
