Visually-impaired boy moves audience of Việt Nam’s Piano Got Talent

Nguyễn Phan Tuấn Hùng, who is just eight years old, from the central province of Khánh Hòa has impressed judges and the audience of Vietnam’s Piano Got Talent contest.

Nguyễn Phan Tuấn Hùng from the central province of Khánh Hòa has impressed judges and audience of the Việt Nam’s Piano Got Talent contest with his performance of Austrian composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s rondo composition.

The ongoing competition, organised for the first time by the Huế University of Music, has attracted more than 400 contestants from over 30 provinces and cities nationwide, with ages ranging from four to 32.

After passing through the preliminary round, the eligible contestants performed live at the Sông Hương Theatre in Huế City on Sunday. The event was attended by Tạ Quang Đông, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in addition to many leading musical experts and lecturers from across the country, as well as hundreds in the audience.

One of the most emotional and impressive performance was that of eight year old Hùng from Khánh Hòa Province.

Hùng was a particularly special contestant as he is visually impaired. His performance of the Austrian composer’s work, took the audience through a wide range of emotions, with his hands dancing across the piano keys, leaving everyone present in awe.

According to his mother, Phan Thị Thu Dung, Hùng has had a special talent for music since a very young age. At the age of three, he could sing well, with accurate pitch and rhythm and he especially loved to listen to the piano.

"When my son was seven years old, a friend of mine who studied at the HCM City Conservatory of Music came to visit and played a piano piece for him. After hearing it, my son went to the piano, gently touched the keys, and played the same piece, even though he had not learned it before,” she recalled.

“Encouraged by this, I started looking for a piano teacher for him. However, because he is visually impaired, many teachers were hesitant.

“Luckily, a teacher agreed to teach him. For the past two years, the teacher has been reading the notes out loud and Hùng listens and then plays the piano, which has led to his current success.

"After a period of learning, many teachers have commented that he has a gift, so my family wants to provide him with the conditions to pursue music to have a better future, hoping to make his life less difficult later on," she said.

Hùng’s performance was rewarded with the third prize in the non-professional category of Vietnam’s Piano Got Talent.

"Since I cannot see like my peers, I really enjoy listening to music, especially the works of composer Beethoven. My future dream is to become a professional piano artist,” he told Thanh Niên (Youth) Newspaper.

Dung said the award was the fruit of her son’s tremendous efforts, hoping that this achievement would be a stepping stone on his path to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional piano artist.

The organisers of Vietnam’s Piano Got Talent awarded 52 prizes to outstanding individuals in both the professional and non-professional groups. Contestant Đặng Bá Minh Quân successfully won the Grand Prize in the professional group and Nguyễn Ngô Quốc Đạt in the non-professional group.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tạ Quang Đông, the top prize winners of this year's competition would be admitted to study at the Huế University of Music.