Port Macquarie teenager Ben Robinson has loved music for as long as he can remember, becoming a passionate piano player from the age of six.
He then continued to tune his skills and master the trombone, and now he has really hit the big time with his musical flair.
At only 14 years of age, the Port Macquarie High School student has written a song and its lyrics that has taken out the prestigious 2011 Harmony Day Songwriting Competition.
The Competition is a project of the Alfred Dreyfus Unit of B’nai B’rith and is a state competition for secondary students to compose songs with the theme of “Making Our World a Better Place”, which attracted thousands of entries.
Although Ben said he has written the musical score to about 30 songs to date, this was his first ever attempt at writing lyrics.
And his inspiration for his song ‘Little Things’ came from the heart, he said.
“I wrote it just after the floods in Australia, the Japanese earthquake had struck, Queenstown was destroyed — when everything was going wrong,” Ben said.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be great if none of that was here. We look at the little things; important stuff.”
Under the guidance of his long-time music teacher, Robyn Ryan OAM, and with the encouragement of his school music teacher, Stuart Heddles, Ryan polished his composition and submitted it to the competition.
“A couple of months ago Mr Heddles gave me the entry forms for the Harmony Day Songwriting Competition,” he said.
“I stayed up late the weekend before the entries closed, and wrote the winning song.
“We quickly recorded me singing the track and sent off the forms and recordings.”
There were four categories for students to submit their songs in the competition, with a cash prize of $500 for each, with an additional overall winner receiving further prize money and professional equipment and prizes for the school.
Not only did Ben’s song ‘Little Things’ take out one of the four category: Pop/Rock/Country, it was also given the prize as the overall winner.
His song will be sung by renowned performer Armando Hurley at the 2011 Harmony Day Ceremony at Parliament House on Tuesday, June 14.
“Watching someone as talented as Armando performing the song that I wrote will be one of the proudest moments of my life so far,” Ben said.
The announcement of Ben’s win comes at an appropriate time, which also celebrates making our world a better place.
National Reconciliation Week is underway from May 27 to June 3.
Each year National Reconciliation Week celebrates the rich culture and history of the first Australians.
This is not the first time Ben has been in the spotlight.
He has been performing to audiences of over 500 at prestigious venues around the State and has won numerous piano eisteddfods.
Ben received a cash prize of $1000 and professional equipment and a further $500 in professional equipment was awarded to the school.
“I would like to become a professional composer when I finish school,” Ben said.
“I love playing music. But it’s writing that interests me the most”.
There were four categories for students to submit their songs in the competition, with a cash prize of $500 for each, with an additional overall winner receiving further prize money and professional equipment and prizes for the school.
Not only did Ben’s song ‘Little Things’ take out one of the four category: Pop/Rock/Country, it was also given the prize as the overall winner.
His song will be sung by renowned performer Armando Hurley at the 2011 Harmony Day Ceremony at Parliament House on Tuesday, June 14.
“Watching someone as talented as Armando performing the song that I wrote will be one of the proudest moments of my life so far,” Ben said.
The announcement of Ben’s win comes at an appropriate time, which also celebrates making our world a better place.
National Reconciliation Week is underway from May 27 to June 3.
Each year National Reconciliation Week celebrates the rich culture and history of the first Australians.
This is not the first time Ben has been in the spotlight.
He has been performing to audiences of over 500 at prestigious venues around the State and has won numerous piano eisteddfods.
Ben received a cash prize of $1000 and professional equipment and a further $500 in professional equipment was awarded to the school.
“I would like to become a professional composer when I finish school,” Ben said.
“I love playing music. But it’s writing that interests me the most”.
