When her mother Nicole introduced her to the instrument when she was just a toddler, Claudia took to it instinctively and hasn’t put it down ever since.

Performing in the Suzuki Violin Newcastle and Singleton concert on July 12, Claudia will be tackling some of the legends in the world of classical music.

Her friends Chopin, Brahms and Bach have been keeping her busy for rehearsals in addition to her three hours of play she completes anyway. Studying extension music for year 12, Claudia has written an ensemble piece that is being performed in the concert.

Performing on stage is something that comes naturally to Claudia now and even a performance at the annual Suzuki concert at the Opera House feels natural to her.

“You’re in a world of your own and everything just feels so comfortable,” she said.

The Suziki method mimics the way children learn their mother tongue and emphasises learning music by ear over reading musical notation.

It parallels language acquisition where a child learns to speak before learning to read.

For Claudia the Suzuki method has helped her in many other areas too including recalling school work for exams.

Claudia knows that music is going to remain a strong part of her daily life and expects to continue with her studies of music for some time to come.

Enjoying the involvement with Suzuki, among other things, in the meantime is keeping this enthusiastic teenager busy.

One of her most recent exciting moments has been the recording of her own composition she had to create for school.

“To hear something that you have written recorded and played back is quite overwhelming and an amazing achievement,” Claudia said.

To see Claudia and many other talented musicians perform, tickets for the Suzuki Violin Newcastle and Singleton concert are available now. The concert is being held at Newcastle Grammar School on Sunday, July 12 at 2pm.

A light lunch of soup and sandwiches, tea and coffee and assorted food is available as part of the cost. Family tickets are $25, adults $10 and children $5.

The event is a charity concert to raise funds for the Singleton Kidney Dialysis Unit in memory of Mary Cann.

Tickets can be purchased from Country Gift World 6571 2123, John Cann 6572 2196 and Kay Sullivan 6573 1072.

A reunion of past Singleton Suzuki Violin students is being held on the same day from 12.30pm. Any people connected with the group who are able to attend or who know of people who have moved from the area who were past students are being asked to contact Jenny Tindale on 6573 1734.