Five Treasures Music Education Gave Me by Julia Hill

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It’s Spring 2007, and my grade two class in has been called to the lower primary school weekly assembly. We shuffle to the assembly area to find an assortment of grade three students standing on stage, each one holding what looks like *gasp* a violin! Some of the violins are even bigger than the students themselves!

Intrigued, I sit down straining to hear what the violins are playing, although the instrumental teacher, Mr Robinson, later clarifies that the bigger violin varieties are in fact, violas, cellos and double basses – and when you put them together, it’s called a string orchestra.

It looked like a lot of fun to play the smallest elegantly shaped wooden box (aka, the violin), so I grabbed an expression of interest form from Mr Robinson and eagerly showed it to my parents when I got home.

My Dad took the form, smiled and said, “It’s good to take an interest in things, Julia, we’ll have a think about it”.

Mum and Dad’s thinking must have gone well, because I soon found myself carefully carrying my half-size violin case into school for my first lesson.

This was the beginning of my life as I know it now.

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Since beginning the violin in 2008, music education has given me more than I could have guessed. I have performed internationally, made deep friendships and have built my career around music. Today, I’ll share five treasures that music education has given me.

1. Friendship

My closest friendships have been made through music. In school, I had opportunities to go to music camps like most and perform in large-scale productions like Creative Generation, where I met other students with whom I got along straight away. It’s been over a decade since I started doing these music camps, and I’m still working alongside the same friends in professional music contexts.

2. Discipline

Anyone who has learnt to sing or play an instrument would know that many practise hours are required. Learning the violin enabled me to create a daily routine from primary school where I would set aside time to focus on the violin. This has served me well into adulthood as I now can comfortably balance instrument, work, university and personal time.

3. International Experiences

Performing in countries like China, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and Germany has been a direct result of my music education. International orchestral tours, collaborative projects with overseas artists, and scholarships to work and study abroad have all contributed to both my musical and personal development. Most recently, I have moved to Japan (again) with the MEXT scholarship where I’m undertaking postgraduate studies in classical music at Tokyo University of the Arts. Soon, I’ll also be performing at the 2025 Osaka World Expo with the DeepBlue Orchestra in June, and touring with the Australian Youth Orchestra to Europe in July!

4. Communication and Connection

In performance, we communicate humanity’s lived experience to ourselves, other musicians and audiences. My music teachers have shown me how to communicate with my violin; sometimes I bring the audience into a wild party, and at other times I’m sinking into the composer’s life story. It is through music that I can genuinely connect with myself and my audience.

In ensembles, we also learn to create and negotiate together both verbally and non-verbally. Thanks to ensemble work, I feel comfortable with communicating and working with others in situations other than music.

5. A Fulfilling Career

Every day is different with a music career. One day I’ll be performing on a farm, and then next I’ll be dancing around the room, trying to get my violin students to unleash their creativity. I work alongside brilliant people who inspire me to keep creating and I am positively challenged every day. With this, I feel like I could do music as a career forever – I’ll never tire of it.

Through music, I am a performer, educator, writer and researcher. Through these outputs, I know that I can make a positive impact on whoever listens in; and by knowing that I have done something good for the world through music, I am fulfilled.