Niken Tajudin, 20, recently took part in a 'Jazzmania' concert at CQUniversity but there's no mania in her mantra. She just wants to share the beauty of music with the world.

"The common question friends ask me when I tell them that I am pursuing a music degree in Australia is, 'Why not America?'," the Bachelor of Music (Jazz & Popular Music) student says.

Niken Tajudin

"When considering the next phase of my education, I wanted my first experience away from home to be in a world class environment and yet be close enough to home that I would still be in touch with my cultural heritage.  Australia was the perfect choice."

Niken recently returned to Malaysia to celebrate graduation from a Diploma in Music majoring in Classical Singing, from the MARA Institute of Technology (UiTM). She received the Vice-Chancellor's Award for her excellence.

"At the start of the Diploma program, I did not have the slightest idea of what was to come. I had had some form of formal training in classical piano, classical and electric guitar as well as the violin, but transitioning into classical singing was by far the hardest challenge I have had to overcome.

"The Diploma program gave me a solid foundation in both practical and theory. In fact, the program instilled a character within me that I had always had trouble with when I was younger ie discipline.

"I remember clearly the first day of class when I was told that by the end of the program, I was to present a repertoire of eight classical pieces, in five different languages (Malay, English, Italian, French and German) in a minimum duration of half an hour.

"I instantly raised a red flag and told my lecturer that it was impossible. She told me, 'You are a talented singer and a bright student. Nothing is impossible. We will take it one day at a time and I can assure you that with lots of discipline and practice, by the end of this program, you will be able to pull it off'. Sure enough, she was right."

Niken had the chance to perform at several events during her studies in Malaysia. The performances ranged from some as small as school concerts and gala dinners to some as big as performing in front of the King, Prime Minister and Ministers, music festivals and alongside Malaysia's legendary rock group, Wings.

"Apart from preparing for the showcase and performing off campus, I still had to keep my nose to the grindstone for subjects such as Composition and Arranging, Conducting, Theory, Aural, History and Music Technology," she said.

Niken says she initially wanted to become a professional performer. However, towards the end of her Diploma studies, she found a new focus on becoming a composer specialising in film scoring.

"In order to excel, I realised that I needed to be different.  I needed my compositions to have a niche in order to gain international recognition.  I needed to experience different cultures, different music genres and have numerous performing experiences. CQUni was automatically my first choice.

"I love living and learning at CQUni.  The University is industry-oriented, allowing me to experience first-hand the different needs of the market.  I am living among friends from many, many countries, learning about various cultures and living within diversity.  I am being pushed in class to expand my horizons and realise my potential.  I am having performance experiences that are enriching, for me as an individual and a member of teams. 

"I have been blessed to be able to find a University where I can pursue my dreams.  I feel like I have done a lot but I also feel that I still have a long way to go and a lot more to learn. The opportunities given to me at CQUni are irreplaceable.  I hope to be able to graduate with excellent results and then continue into a Masters program and then achieve a PhD in music.  It would be so awesome to be able to achieve all that and share the beauty of music with the world."