BSSC Year 12 student, Harvey Jenkyn-Taylor, is a serious Elton John fan.

Accompanying himself on piano, Harvey’s renditions of Elton John songs have been much applauded at Open Mic and numerous BSSC gatherings, enhanced by the natural similarity of their voices.

For more than a decade solely committed to vocals, Harvey saw no need to learn an instrument. Then, five years ago, he sat down intentionally at a piano.

“Back then I was mentally in a terrible space. I got some good support, but I needed more to bring my spirits back up.

“One day I pulled out my grandmother’s old keyboard and tried to play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I realised I could work the song out. It also helped me understand chord structures.”

Harvey worked on Bohemian Rhapsody for nine months, then moved on to other Queen songs.

He was soon teaching himself to play the Elton John songs he had been singing for more than eleven years.

“I’m not classically trained on piano at all,” he says. “I play mostly by ear.”

While he admires many musicians, he says some of the most influential people in his life have been teachers.

Back in 2021 at Crusoe College, a teacher who heard him having his first attempt at playing a full-size upright piano, told him to play it whenever he wanted.

He also had a brilliant maths teacher there who really knew how to connect with her students.

At senior, Ash Bird has given Harvey great support and many opportunities. From playing piano for the Anzac Day ceremony and Graduation, to gigs in the Hargreaves Mall, to being on the mixing desk for Musician of the Year.

According to Harvey, BSSC is the best school he’s ever been to—and when asked if he would recommend it to others says, “of course I do!”

Harvey is studying Music Enquiry, Music Performance, Drama, Theatre Studies, and English and he happily admits a bias towards music subjects.

“I want to make it as a performer and came here knowing music would be my focus.”

The word he chooses to describe BSSC is: ‘respectful’.

“All my teachers here respect and care for their students’ wellbeing as well as helping them to succeed academically. They create classrooms that make it easy to get to know and work well with your peers.

“When your teachers support you, it makes you feels so safe and so much more willing to have a go or ask for help.”

BSSC’s range of music and theatre subjects, the many performance opportunities and having great peer support—as well as making new friends—are highlights for Harvey.

More challenging have been the changes he’s had to make to his work ethic.

“At Crusoe in Year 10 our teachers were very clear about VCE at BSSC—that we would need to work harder.

“In my first Music class I had this sinking feeling as I realised how much work I would have to do.

“I had been playing piano for around three years by this time, but couldn’t read music. I immediately began to work on this. I still can’t sight-read a piece, but at least I can see how it will flow.”

While Year 11 was something of a baptism of fire, Harvey tried to readjust his approach. Alongside wisely choosing subjects he loves, he has developed strategies to maximise his achievements—and is presently up-to-date or ahead with schoolwork.

“Accepting I’ve had to work even harder in Year 12—to be more organised and get better at planning and prioritising—has been challenging. Homework is not my favourite thing.”

Harvey tries to complete as much schoolwork as possible at the college and sometimes finds leaving school during breaks helps him reset and keep a balance.

Music is his natural remedy for stress and his hot study tips are not directly about schoolwork.

“Make healthy decisions that allow you to live life to the fullest and prolong your life. I’m so grateful for life, for the experience of being alive, and I’m aiming for a healthier lifestyle.”

As Harvey well knows, regular sleep is an area of health that can be a challenge for muso’s who are known to be notorious for getting into a ‘groove’ and suddenly realising it’s 2am!

A great supporter of his friends, and especially of people in the LGBTIQA+ community, Harvey admits he sometimes puts others first to his own detriment, so aims for greater balance here to.

Other interests include gaming and playing board games or cards.

He would love to visit New Zealand one day to explore his heritage, however, as a young Maori he is very concerned about the racism and eroding of Maori rights happening now in New Zealand.

If time travel was a ‘thing’, Harvey would loop back and say this to his 12-year-old self:

“Hello dumb ass! You need to put more focus into study and less into gaming! You need to concentrate on being positive!

“I often had the feeling people thought I was so mature, but actually I was quite chaotic at times, so I’d also say: ‘Continue taking care of others, but take care of yourself too—mentally and physically’.

“And, because I’ve learnt so much from my mistakes, I wouldn’t really want to take them away.”