James got up from his piano stool amid a standing ovation and took a bow. This was in celebration of his receiving fellowship award, from Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. There is a saying in the music world, “famous musicians are either born with a natural gift or become one with passion and rigorous practice”. In the case of James, it was both. His journey has just started, he is still young, twenty five years old, but a budding pianist in this part of the world.

James was born in New Jersey and brought up in New York in a lower middle class family of immigrants. In his elementary school, he was an average kid. James played violin in his school. He seldom practiced at home, but used to play well in school concerts and earned good grades in his music subject. 

During his 4th grade summer vacation, he requested his parents to buy him classical music sheets with works from Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Kabalevsky and also a music composition notebook book. In his free time, he listened to professional pianists playing classical solos,  mentioned in his musical sheets, on his home computer. He played each song many times, compared them with the musical notes he had and wrote notes about the fingers used to play each note, the changes in the dynamics and rhythm in his composition book. Once he had analyzed a song completely, he placed the music sheet in front of him with his notes clipped to it and played each sentence by tapping his fingers on his knees while sitting on a kitchen stool. Once he got comfortable with the musical notes in the song, he turned on the metronome beats in the app downloaded on an old unused dad’s cell phone. The metronome enabled him to finger tap the songs with dynamics.He played each song several times, till he made it his own. When his parents caught him with his “weird” passion, they didn’t object. “At least he is not playing video games or watching television”, his mother convinced his dad. 

In fifth grade, James was invited to a birthday party by one of his school friends, Ryan. During his birthday party, Ryan entertained his guests with some famous classical music songs he played on his grand piano. Ryan encouraged his peers from his piano class to perform on his piano. Some kids took turns and played songs they learned in their music lessons. Ryan asked James whether he would like to play “Russian Folk Song” by Beethoven he had been tapping on his knees in the school cafeteria. James’s face flushed, he had never touched piano keys. Upon his friend’s persistent request, James sat on the stool, and looked around, no one was looking at him but Ryan. Some kids were playing foosball and others were in the pool. His eyes met Ryan’s, and  muttered, “Ryan my friend, please do not mock me after my act”. James’s eyes fixed on the keys, his fingers curved and its tips settled on top of the piano keys. James began his performance, his mind in sync with his fingers and his body with the musical instrument. When his performance ended, he took a deep breath and looked up and around. Ryan was looking at him, so was the rest of the audience, in silence,  and then they broke into a thunderous applause. James stood up and bowed. He looked at his parents, they were also clapping, but with disbelief . Next weekend, James was admitted by his parents to a local music conservatory.

After one month, James’s dad asked him about his piano lessons progress. James informed his dad that he hasn’t started learning music yet. Dad was surprised! He accompanied James to his next class. He met his piano teacher and asked her about his progress. The teacher patiently explained that she is teaching James how to sit in front of the piano, hand-eye coordination, finger exercises and figuring out his listening and sight reading skills before beginning any practical lessons. James’s dad had no knowledge of music and did not seem to appreciate the progress.

Six months passed. It was time for the music exams. His first NY state music exam was a breeze. The Royal Conservatory of Music  exam was thorough and challenging, as he was forewarned by his music teacher. James listened to the examiner and responded properly to the sight reading questions and played his repertoire and etude selections with passion. The New York State results came first and then the Royal results. James scored excellent in New York and passed in first class with distinction in the Royal. James was subsequently awarded a STAR excellence award in music by his school.

Around Thanksgiving holidays, James received a letter from RCM. It was an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall since he scored the highest in music theory and the practical for his music level. James was ecstatic! James’s music teacher was also invited separately to the concert. She selected a song much above James’s ability and instructed him to practice daily on his home piano. James was silent and couldn’t look into his teacher’s eyes. His eyes filled with tears. Upon further probing by his teacher, he said, “it is not possible for me to practice such a complex song in such a short time”. The teacher couldn’t believe that James was shying away from a challenge. Her disbelief turned into shock when she learnt the real reason behind James’s denial. James mustered up his courage and told her that he does not have a piano at home. The teacher ran into the local conservatory’s director's office and explained the situation. The director patiently listened and then walked to the studio to meet James herself. She saw a visibly shaken James, hugged him, congratulated him and told him that he could visit the conservatory and practice on the grand piano in the auditorium whenever it is available. After school, James practiced on the grand piano on no-concert days. Two weeks before the concert, James was surprised to see a hybrid grand piano in his living room. It was from his music conservatory. James used to wake up in the middle of the night and practice on his piano. The Carnegie Hall concert was a turning point in James’s musical career. He became famous in his school, community and county. The concert gave him confidence in himself. Carnegie Hall’s motto, “Practice, Practice, Practice” and the meaning behind it got permanently imprinted in his mind. Passion and practice made learning music easier for James. He kept on graduating NYSSMA and RCM levels. 

In his senior year of high school, James gave piano auditions in the music schools of New York City, Philadelphia and Toronto. James was fortunate to get accepted in multiple music schools, but chose to go to Juilliard School for his bachelor degree in music. This was a major career decision for James.  His parents were worried. They were not sure whether their son would be successful and live a decent life being a musician. Excellent recommendation letters from his music and school teachers landed him a scholarship, which enabled him to fund part of his tuition fees. James passed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in music with flying colors. During his masters degree, he composed some piano and orchestra compositions which were published in the Americas and abroad. James got to play piano concertos in  music halls of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. After a few years, he got the opportunity to play piano in an orchestra of a violin concerto at Carnegie Hall. Though he was part of the orchestra, Carnegie Hall was special to him. It had been his turning point and career maker. He played his piano part with passion and perfection. The audience gave him a standing ovation. Unintentionally, his passion overshadowed the violinist and shot him to celebrity status. 

James, and his passionate piano playing style became famous among his peer musicians and music aware audiences. James was fortunate to compose music scores for broadway musicals and a couple of movies. He resided in a rented apartment in New York City and had decent savings. 

The Royal Conservatory of Music nominated James as a fellow, and invited him to the RCM hall. At the presentation ceremony, James played a couple of Bach piano compositions with the inclusion of Sonatina two movements by Clementi. This song was the one which James played when he was first invited to Carnegie Hall by the same RCM for scoring excellent in his exams. Time flies, people age, but memories are timeless. 

Before playing any song, James closes his eyes and remembers his mother's advice to breathe deeply for a few seconds, forget all worldly worries and become one with the song, the fingers will automatically dictate the keys and trance the surroundings. It works!