Estrella Yau recently performed with the Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall to an audience of over 5,000 people. Find out more about her passion for music and her time at The Henley College.
I play the violin and piano and am at grade 8 for both instruments. At the Royal Albert Hall I performed with the symphony orchestra BYSO (Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Johnathan Burnett. 1,800 people in total performed that night including the choirs and soloists and just over 5,000 attended. I have also performed with a smaller string orchestra in Netherlands in 2015 and it was an amazing experience going on tour. During summer we should be performing at Disneyland Paris and next year, in Spain.
I chose to come to The Henley College because I wanted a different experience, in a new environment with new people. The different variety of subjects definitely interested me as there were many more than my school sixth form. I am currently studying A Levels in Ancient History, Classical Civilisation and Economics. These subjects stood out because a lot of places do not offer them and I wanted to learn something new. Classical Civilisation is definitely my favourite subject because I love learning about other cultures and how much the world has developed and changed.
My best memory whilst studying at The Henley College has definitely been meeting new people. Joining Henley I only knew 2 people, and I now have a whole new group of friends from all over the area - I’m still meeting more people every day! This has helped me feel more included and makes the environment feel very friendly.
I think The Henley College has helped me learn a lot about myself and made me more independent. I firstly chose Maths as an A-Level although I’ve never been a massive fan, I thought I’d need it in the future. However, changing subjects was one of the best academic decisions I’ve made as I now know you should choose subjects that you enjoy because it will help decide what you want to do in the future.
In the future, I would most definitely like to continue learning about Ancient Greek Society and possibly travel to learn more about other cultures. Music has always been a massive part of my life and will continue to be in the future and I hope to perform in bigger and better venues as I get more experienced!
