Swastik Chakrabarti

Name: Swastik Chakrabarti
Exam taken: Classical and Jazz, Electronic Keyboard, Grade 6
Category nominated under: Achievement – outstanding or high achievement in their qualification results
Nominated by: Koushik Chakrabarti, Parent

Swastik has been passionate about music and musical instruments at a very early age. He started learning electronic keyboard at the age of 5 when we lived in India. We moved to the UK when he was 8 years and he started playing electronic keyboard in school music groups and social events. He started doing Trinity graded exams and achieved a Merit in Grade 1 exam in March 2022. Since then he has completed Grades 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, achieving a Distinction in each of these grades.

The excellent feedback from the examiners is a testament of his musical talent and style of play, which has has been recognised at various levels. He has his own YouTube channel called Rik Rocks with 350+ subscribers and is part of 3 musical bands - 2 in high school and 1 in the local community. He has also taken up Music GCSE and aspires to build a career in music.

Nominated student statement:

Music is an integral part of my life. I have been enjoying playing the Trinity College London graded exam pieces and the technical work, which has given me great opportunities to improve my style of playing, learn various genres, and trigger my creativity and composition skills.