Most would think music comes naturally to the Wong family.
Collectively the five children play eight instruments, have passed 81 Australian Music Exams and have been awarded 15 diplomas.
On Friday, the Wongs will come together in a rare performance to celebrate a centenary of the AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) at the Conservatorium of Music.
But the gifted quintet from Cootamundra, rural New South Wales, owe their mastery to their mum and dad's tireless dedication.
Hong-Kong born parents Dilys and Shing Wong moved to Australia and home-schooled their children Grace, Eunice, Ester, Caleb and Sarah in the tiny country town of Muttama.
The Wong children. Source: SBS News
But they immediately recognised their children’s passion for music at an early age.
“They would perform for us, they wrote their own little songs, or wrote their own musical, they'd do acts and sing and dance,” Ms Wong told SBS News.
To fulfil their talent, Dilys and Shing Wong had to drive three-hour round trips from the family property to drop off their children to the closest music teacher with a piano.
When middle sister Esther wanted to learn the harp, Mr and Ms Wong had to drive an hour and a half in the other direction.
The Wong children will perform at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Source: SBS News
"We just got used to spending a lot of time in the car ... with each other,” second-oldest daughter Eunice said.
"I don't understand how I did it really, because it was a lot of hard work,” Ms Wong told SBS News.
The ‘Wong String Quintet’ will now perform together to help commemorate 100 years of the AMEB at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music.
The performance is made even more “special” for eldest sister Grace.
She returned last year from South Africa where she worked in the ‘Violins Against Violence’ program to help ‘at-risk kids’ improve their life skills through learning music.
The opportunity to play in what could be Australia’s most musical family also excited her sister Ester.
"Right now we're all best friends ... which is really fun,” she said.
The New South Wales AMEB Centenary Concert will see musicians perform work from contemporary Australian composers as well as Tchaikovsky and Mendelssoh.
AMEB examiners have also arranged a number of performances to include work from Handel to Bruno Mars.
