A poem and piano composition about the misplaced sense of adventure of a boy-soldier in World War I has seen Damascus College student Tristan Clonan awarded a main prize in the annual Spirit of Anzac awards.
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The year 10 student first wrote the poem for a school assessment, then refined it and composed a piano piece to edit together as a video for his award submission.
"I entered a poem about WW1 which talks of a young boy that snuck away to go to war, whom then died on the battlefield of Gallipoli," he said.
"I then took it one step further, as I am passionate about the piano, I chose to also to create a composition to be edited together as a video, where I narrate the poem to the piano music."
WATCH TRISTAN'S SPIRIT OF ANZAC AWARD-WINNING COMPOSITION BELOW
While Tristan's family do not have an extensive military history, a guest speaker talking about the prize and different aspects of Australia's war history inspired him to enter.
The Premier's Spirit of the Anzac competition encourages students to dive deep into Australia's war history. The competition is judged by a selection panel and of the three prompts to explore, Tristan chose to represent the perspectives and experiences of Australians in war.
"You hear stories of boy soldiers and ... a lot of boys who were in it for the glory thought it would be an adventure so I thought I would take the adventure aspect, expand on that but at the same time it be something tragic.
"He's leaving his parents and friends and he's in it for the fun of it and adventure. I can't relate to that but can see where it came from ... it was a different type of war."
IN OTHER NEWS
Tristan's composition A Hero's Adventure caught the eye of the judges and he was awarded one of 10 main prizes for the state.
Most years the main prize is a study trip to Singapore and Vietnam, but for COVID-affected 2020 the main prize this year is a $3000 education scholarship.
A number of other Damascus students were shortlisted and received regional prizes.
"On a normal year, award recipients would have travelled overseas to Singapore and Vietnam, but I think it is a good compromise in what has been a really challenging year."
