Nathanael Koh

Nathanael Koh (13) has graduated from the Australian National University. He talks about his ambitions.

Transcript

00:00 And there's nothing to not like about Canberra because Canberra is a very interesting city,

00:06 to say the least.

00:08 How do you keep so... you're very talented and you know you're very talented.

00:13 How do you keep your feet on the ground when you're so advanced at your age?

00:21 So I volunteer to teach music theory at the Beautiful Minds Music Academy in Singapore

00:26 and I sometimes teach mathematics in my free time and on my YouTube channel.

00:32 How do grown-ups treat you when you clearly know more than they do?

00:37 Nah, it's fine. I talk to grown-ups better than I talk to kids my age.

00:45 Do you see yourself being a composer or a player or what?

00:50 I don't see myself doing anything and also I like classical music

00:55 but I am open to any genre if it helps me.

00:58 And the reason why I say I don't see myself doing anything is because I'm terrible at extrapolation.

01:04 So at 9 years old, I didn't expect myself to do mathematics at 9 but I did mathematics at 9

01:12 and at 10 years old, I didn't expect myself to do chemistry and/or physics but I did both.

01:18 And at 11, I did biology and at 12, I did higher mathematics for entry into Oxford and Cambridge.

01:25 But still, one thing I do know about me is that music is my first love

01:31 and I will still continue to pursue music and I would also like to do research.

01:37 So when will you be coming back to the ANU and to do what?

01:41 I will be coming back next year in the ANU first semester of 2024 to do a PhD in music theory

01:49 and my music is interdisciplinary meaning I am combining mathematics

01:54 and computer science as well as of course music.

02:00 Are you looking forward to it?

02:02 Yes, I am definitely looking forward to it. What else?

02:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]