Hitting the high grades was one of the biggest motivators for music student Ryan Topple who has racked up a string of distinctions in his exams.

Ryan, 14, took exams in piano, saxophone and music theory and came out with ten distinctions and three merits. For the saxophone, all of his results were distinctions. If that wasn’t enough, Ryan is now planning to take up the flute and clarinet next year.

The Saltus Grammar School student has been interested in music since he was a little boy when he got a keyboard and learnt to play it for seven years.

Then he got to meet music teacher Lisa Maule who was keen to broaden the horizons of her young student.

“Mrs Maule came to my school and showed us all the different instruments we could play.

“I decided I wanted to start learning saxophone — it was bigger than all the other instruments. I play alto and baritone, which is so big you need a car to transport.”

Despite his young age, Ryan spends a lot of his spare time performing and his performances have been quite varied.

“I’m in a concert band, jazz band, an orchestra and I am a mentor in a big band. Occasionally I am with a brass ensemble. I like all types of music.

“As soon as I got my grade five piano [at the age of 11] I started playing the church organ and have played at Wesley Methodist Church with [organist] Lloyd Matthew and at our church St Patrick’s. I’ve performed with the Bermuda Chamber Choir and Orchestra playing timpani and played percussion for the We Remember Concert in 2014 as well as the Crowning Occasion 2015.

“I play organ for school events such as prize-giving’s and graduations, school hymns and the national anthem.”

Ryan was also the first Saltus student to play at the Anglican Cathedral for one of their services.

Asked what motivated him in his music training, Ryan said: “I wanted to get really high grades in the exam and I really like music.

“It takes a lot of practice to get to high levels — I knew I wanted very high grades especially on my grade eight exam. You have to commit and practise.”

Speaking about his future in music, he added: “I’ve thought about Broadway before and we spoke with a conductor in March. I’d like to do it as a part-time job — I would like to play the organ at maybe a church on Saturday and Sunday and weddings.”