The recipient for the 2024 GWS Young Players Scholarship is Daniel Chong. Daniel plays percussion and is completing his VCE at Trinity Grammar this year. More information will be posted her in the near future.
Daniel Chong – 2024 Young Player Scholarship Recipient
Hello! I’m Daniel and I play percussion. I started off playing drumkit and picked up counting a lot of bars and occasionally playing some notes on the glockenspiel along the way. Over the years I’ve found joy learning the ins and outs of all the instruments you get to play as a percussionist, and I love being able to add a bit of pizazz or sparkle or oomph to the music. My musical goals are to play as broad a range of music as possible – while I love smashing skins to Smashing Pumpkins, I just as much enjoy Latin grooves and of course a bit of classical slide whistle, anvil, gong, and vibraslap. I am pursuing a degree in popular music at Monash where I hope to improve my drum playing and maybe even learn to sing well.
About the Scholarship
The Grainger Wind Symphony Young Players Scholarship is an annual scholarship open to young woodwind, brass, percussion and string bass players since 2011. The scholarship seeks to encourage talented young musicians to pursue their interest in wind music beyond secondary school. The scholarship is for students doing their final year of secondary school. By raising awareness of the strong community music scene in Melbourne, the Grainger Wind Symphony hopes to engage a whole new generation of musicians in this proud tradition.
Every music teacher hopes to instil in their students a love of music that is carried beyond the boundaries of school life. Why not give your students the very best of opportunities and help them carry their passion forward to post-‐secondary school life? The Grainger Wind Symphony Young Players Scholarship is the ideal platform for your high-‐achieving students to practice performing before a panel, become accustomed to the audition process and receive feedback on the their performance, whilst encouraging them to continue pursuing music beyond secondary school.
Applications in 2025 are now OPEN. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a Zoom interview. An audition is waived this year because of the COVID restrictions. If the wind symphony is rehearsing on the 8th December, the short listed applicants will be invited to play with the group. Unsuccessful applicants for the scholarship may be invited to be a normal member.
Click here for the Application Form for MSWord
Click here for the Application Form as a PDF
Click here for a generic letter to Heads of Music in schools.
Past GWS Young Player Scholarship winners
2024 Daniel Chong
2023 Michael Beech
2020-21 Jamie Papps
2019 no award
2018 Emma Squires
2017 Chelsea Tubby
2016 Sarah Phang
2015 Harry Potocnik
2014 Suzanne Yong
2013 Penelope Latham
2012 Sophie Caldwell
2011 Shirin Chalik inaugural recipient