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S'pore boy, 12, wins world violin competition in Italy

YOUNG violinist Gabriel Ng has added another feather to his cap.
The 12-year-old came up tops in his age group, the intermediate category, at the 14th Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Fermo, Italy, last month. He was also awarded the Grand Prize as the overall winner of the competition, becoming the first Singaporean to achieve this distinction. The annual competition is organised by the Antiqua Marca Firmana Cultural Centre and attracts more than 100 violinists worldwide, including from Russia, France, Germany and China. Gabriel, who started learning to play the violin at age four, has won other accolades. He received the 2006 HSBC Youth Excellence Award for Musical Excellence. It came with a $200,000 prize to help him pursue his dreams. He was also the first prize winner in the 2003 Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition, when he was just nine years old. For almost two years now, he has been studying at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in Britain. The violinist will be back in Singapore to perform at his debut concert, Ng@esplanade on July 23. The concert is organised by HSBC to raise funds for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. Gabriel told The Straits Times over the phone from his home in Surrey: 'I was nervous before the competition, but that is a natural feeling. I was not stressed in any way because I did not expect a lot.' He practised for about three months to learn the competition repertoire with his Yehudi Menuhin teacher, Ms Natasha Boyarsky. She had entered him in the competition. He and his mother, Ms Lim Ben Hoa, 50, then flew to Fermo, Italy, for the competition. Ms Lim said: 'Some parents told me that there were students practising till 11pm in their hotel rooms. But because Gabriel went there only for the experience, he was not so nervous.' Almost all of Gabriel's immediate family have relocated to Britain. His father, offshore engineer Edwardus Ng, 53, moved to Britain in April after getting a posting there from his employer. He joins his wife, son and 14-year-old daughter, who had moved to Britain earlier. The Ngs have another daughter, 18, who stayed behind in Singapore. 'It is a great comfort to have another adult around,' said Ms Lim.
Meanwhile, Gabriel is very much the English football fan. His favourite football club is Manchester United. Besides religiously watching matches and following sports commentaries, he plays football during the four hours of physical education in school each week. The family is also looking forward to the trip back home next month, when they can eat all the food they have been craving.
They usually stop at the food centre in East Coast Park on the way home from the airport to fuel up on nasi lemak, satay and chicken rice. 'We are Singaporean,' Mr Ng said with a laugh.