Mr Robertson said he was ecstatic when he received a letter from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority asking him to perform in the Top Class Concert.

Mr Robertson completed VCE at Horsham College last year, completing his music and song composition studies through distance education. 

“I always aspired to be in these Top Class and Top Act performances, ever since I started VCE music,” he said. “My goal was to be where all the best were.

“It was something I was aiming for so when I got the offer, it’s a cliche but in a sense it was a dream come true.”

Mr Robertson has been performing and composing music since he was a child. 

“I started playing guitar when I was six, I’ve played ever since them and got involved in gigging and busking about age 12 or 13,” he said.

“I started writing music when I was in primary school in year 6. I’m not sure it was very good, I wouldn’t want to be performing it these days but that’s when I started.”

Mr Robertson said writing songs came relatively naturally to him and he was now pursuing his passion professionally by studying a Bachelor of Music focusing on guitar and songwriting.

His Melba Hall performance was the first time he had heard his composition in it’s full, live glory. 

“In the end there were six people on stage including me,” he said,

“It was good to finally get the song done with a full live band. Other times I’ve performed it I had a backing track I’d recorded for the submission but it’s a much more dynamic environment when you have a full band. 

“More can go wrong but when everything goes right it’s a better experience.”

Mr Robertson wrote the music and two-part lyrics for the duet. “There’s a male and female vocalist and they play two different characters like in a musical or stage show,” he said.

“In essence it’s an argument and a fantasy concept where in the end one character steals the other’s soul – so there’s a bit of magic in there too.” Mr Robertson said the reception to his piece was fantastic.