Music is her life: Horatia Ma, 8, is showing great potential with the piano. Picture: Jane Dyson
PROVING practice makes perfect, Horatia Ma, 8, shows determination beyond her years.
The Peakhurst girl has been having lessons with piano teacher Rod MacFarlane since she was five, but it is the hours she puts in at home that get her the results.
"From day one she had this amazing concentration and adaptability and she is a very curious child and these are traits I've noticed that help her to excel," Mr MacFarlane said.
Horatia recently scored A grades in her Australian Music Examinations Board exam.
Earlier this year, she won her three sections in the Sutherland Eisteddfod.
"I liked the pieces, and it can be hard sometimes but you get better if you practise every day," Horatia said. "You have to practise to do well."
Much of Horatia's success comes from supportive parents who follow up her lessons with two hours of piano practice a day.
"We're happy with how she is doing and we hope she can keep improving," said her father Martin Ma.
Horatia is now working towards her grade four examinations.
"She wants to be a professional piano player and her family have found a way for her to make it work," Mr MacFarlane said. "She practises every day which seems to be the secret to her success."