Marc Yu (born January 5, 1999, in Monterey Park, California) is an American musician and former musical prodigy pianist who gained fame at a young age with his exceptional talent. He has significantly contributed to the classical music scene in America through his performances and appearances.

Marc Yu
Born (1999-01-05) January 5, 1999 (age 25)
Monterey Park, California
GenresClassical
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Piano, cello

Biography

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Marc started playing the piano at the age of three years and 11 months,[1] and the cello at the age of six.[citation needed] He began undertaking formal lessons later that year. Marc has perfect pitch.[2]

Marc exhibited prodigiousness in academic subjects, and advanced to high school-level math at the age of seven.[2] In 2005 he was awarded a Davidson Fellow scholarship,[3] making him the youngest recipient of the bottom-tier award.[4]

He has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (in which he received an accordion), as well as being the focus of a National Geographic special titled "My Brilliant Brain".[2]

His musical idol is Lang Lang, famous Chinese pianist.[2] They have performed publicly together twice to date. Marc made his Proms debut with Lang Lang in London on 31 August 2008. They performed Schubert's Fantasia in F minor for piano duet, D. 940.[5] Marc made his Carnegie Hall debut on October 27, 2009, when he again performed the Schubert Fantasia with Lang Lang.[citation needed]

He was homeschooled[2][3] by his mother, who taught him English, Mandarin, and Cantonese Chinese, including Chinese calligraphy.[2]

Marc lived in San Francisco with his family and attended The Nueva School.[6]

As of 2017, Marc was majoring in film scoring at the Berklee College of Music.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Outsmarted by a Six Year Old Again: Hanging Out with Mr. Marc Yu". www.international.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "My Brilliant Brain". Archived from the original on 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. ^ a b "Davidson Fellows Scholarship Recipients - 10th Anniversary Success Stories". www.davidsongifted.org. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  4. ^ 005 Davidson Fellows
  5. ^ BBC Proms coverage of Lang Lang recital
  6. ^ "REVIEW: A Revealing Look at the Hidden Lives of Child Prodigies". 10 January 2018.
  7. ^ Where Are They Now?: Ellen's Talented Kids

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