Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Having taken up the piano and violin aged five he won a scholarship at the age of 16 to the University of Birmingham where he studied English literature and music , and began playing the cor anglais .
Simplified: He had been playing the piano and violin since he was five . When he was 16 he got a scholarship to the University of Birmingham where he studied English literature and music , and began playing the cor anglais .