VIOLINIST, 15 IS YOUNGEST S'POREAN AT NUS

A violin virtuoso aged 15 has played his way from Secondary 3 straight to university. Loh Jun Hong is the youngest Singaporean admitted to the National University of Singapore, based on NUS records for the last decade or so. He is also the youngest musician studying at the university's Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. He had earlier turned down a place at the renowned Yehudi Menuhin School in Britain because he wanted to continue studying under his violin teacher, Assistant Professor Qian Zhou, a lecturer at the conservatory. Jun Hong enrolled at the NUS music faculty three weeks ago for a music degree majoring in violin. The former Raffles Institution student did not meet the faculty's academic criteria - an A-level certificate or its equivalent - but it made an exception for him because of his "musical abilities and excellent academic record". "He has exceptional achievements for a Singaporean his age and we believe he has the potential to succeed at the university level," said the conservatory's director, Dr Gene Aitken. Dr Aitken said Jun Hong was granted an audition because he had been offered a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School and had overseas performing experience. He had "performed an outstanding audition". Jun Hong picked up the violin "for fun" when he was seven. His businessman father, Mr Loh Lean Chooi, 50, discovered that the youngster had an exceptional talent just a few months after he started learning the instrument. "I played a song to him on my guitar one morning and later that day, he played that same piece back to me on the violin," said Mr Loh. The boy joined the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts' (Nafa) School of Young Talents when he was nine. His mum, Madam Lim Ben Tjoe, 49, who helps in the family business, and sister Ling Min, 21, a biochemistry student in California, both play the piano. In 2002, Jun Hong obtained a distinction in the Grade 8 violin examination from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, a leading international music examining board. He was no slouch at school either. He scored four A Stars and an aggregate of 275 in his Primary School Leaving Examination. He won second prize in the junior category of the National Piano and Violin Competition 2001 and the top position in the contest's intermediate category two years later. He has also had numerous solo recitals in Singapore, including a performance at the Istana at a state dinner hosted by President S R Nathan. Last year, he performed at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, the United States, as part of a concert tour organised by Nafa. Jun Hong, who is on the conservatory scholarship, which covers the $7,350 tuition fee per academic year, said he had much more to learn at NUS. "There's more competition here, so I'm forced to improve faster. "In a way, it's pressurising because there's an obligation to be as good as my classmates, but they have three years more experience than me," he added. But he said he enjoys it because he now has more time to concentrate on his music. "It was impossible to balance studies and music when I was in RI, so violin always came first. "When there's a test, I'll study one hour before. When there are exams, I'll study the day before," said the student who averaged 70 per cent for his mid-year exams this year. "Now, I get twice as much practice - at least five hours a day - and don't have to worry about doing my homework," said Jun Hong, who also enjoys meeting or chatting online with his friends. Being three years younger than his classmates is no big deal, he said. "At first, they didn't even realise that I'm 15. They just assumed I'm 19 like everyone else because I'm quite tall," said the 1.75m youth, chuckling.