One thing I've learned is that the connections you make it university are lifelong, especially in an industry like music.

I was born in Canberra, grew up there, and studied music at The Australian National University (ANU). At ANU, there are two people who I made very strong connections with.

The first being my guitar teacher Timothy Kain, who is a figurehead of the guitar world. Thirty-something years after graduating and I still think of Tim not only as a mentor, but as a friend. Every time I go back to Australia I visit Tim, to play guitar for him and get his feedback.

The second is a colleague called Jacob Cordover, who I met because we were both students of Tim's. Tim introduced us and said, 'you should play in a duo together'. That duo has continued for now more than 20 years.

Being a musician is a very difficult career path but I think ANU taught me tenacity. The University instilled in me a willingness to put oneself out there, to work hard, and to have a great experience with great teachers.

ANU alumnus Rupert Boyd (BMus '04) is an acclaimed classical guitarist based in New York City.

This content was originally published by ANU Advancement.