A young East St. Paul musician can impress both on the ivories and with his vocal stylings.

Dariyan Dubik, a Grade 5 student at Springfield Heights Elementary School, won a pair of Royal Conservatory gold medals for posting the highest score in the province in his respective categories.

Dubik was tested in both the preparatory B piano and Grade 1 voice categories, and passed both with flying colours. Dubik received his gold medals during a ceremony, which included a recital, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Muriel Richardson Auditorium on Dec. 1.

During the examination, Dubik pushed himself to surpass any level he had reached before.

"It took a lot of work," he said. "I wanted to do the best I could because I knew I could do better (than I had)."

Dubik had never taken the examinations before, but said he was able to quickly overcome any butterflies once he found his groove.

Dubik’s teacher, Norinne Danzinger-Dueck, has taught him for three years beginning with piano before progressing into voice lessons as well. Danzinger-Dueck said students need to develop their ears with the piano before moving forward into voice.

She has been impressed with the improvement Dubik has made since he first started.

"He’s progressed quite nicely for his age. He’s done very well," Danzinger-Dueck said. "He understands how the music comes in, especially vocally. It’s all internal. You’ve got to be able to feel it. You’ve got to understand where that voice is coming from, where the sound is coming from, and how to breathe."

She said Dubik is a natural talent who has the right backing to be successful.

"He has the gift already," Danzinger-Dueck said. "His other main strength is his family.

"They also help keep him going. They say ‘If you don’t want to do this, OK, let’s go try something else.’ That family strength is very important."

Danzinger-Dueck would like to see Dubik continue to make a commitment to music.

"I hope he keeps going," she said. "The sky’s the limit. As long as he keeps trying and keeps that focus, he can go a long way."

Dubik also plans to continue with his musical studies, and is considering trying another instrument somewhere down the line.

"I would first need to check with my parents to see if they would be alright with that," he said. "I would like to, I just don’t know what (instrument)."

dan.falloon@canstarnews.com