Hitting all the right notes

 
There is a small crowd waiting by the Conference Centre at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. A feeling of excitement hangs in the air as if someone very important is about to arrive. That person is Marc Yu.

He is not a movie star, a politician or a businessman, so why is everyone so keen to meet him? Because this youngster is an incredibly talented musician. But think Mozart, not Justin Timberlake, as Marc is a  classical pianist and at nine years old, some would say a child prodigy.

When he finally does arrive, it is virtually impossible to spot him.

Standing at just one metre tall, Marc is so small he disappears into the crowd of adults towering around him.

Luckily, I am the first one booked in to meet the boy whose hero – fellow musician Lang Lang – calls him “Little Mozart”. As we head to the lift, Marc, dressed casually in a grey shirt and jeans, leads the way, showing the confidence that has seen him take to the stage from the United States to Italy and perform in front of thousands of people on a regular basis. He insists he never gets nervous, but meeting Lang Lang – a fellow pianist from China, who also started playing as a toddler – has been a highlight of his short, yet comprehensive career.

“It was very exciting to meet Lang Lang. He taught me a lot. I do not get to play with him much, but I really like it when I do,” he says almost jumping off his chair at the thought. “I look up to Glenn Goule and Arthur Rubinstein too, but I like Lang Lang the most.”

In Dubai to speak and perform at the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE), Marc talks with great enthusiasm about his first visit  to the UAE.

“I love Dubai. It is a wonderful place,” says the American with a big grin on his face, recounting the day of sightseeing he did before the event. “I chose to come to Dubai because I thought it would be a nice place to visit and I wanted to go sand surfing and camel riding, which I did. It was breathtaking seeing the desert for the first time.”

It is easy to forget that Marc is so young. As well as his incredible confidence – his eloquent choice of words are not always what you would expect from the mouth of a primary school pupil. But Marc is no ordinary child.

Born on January 5, 1999, Marc took an early interest in music. So early in fact that it began before he even came into the world and he credits this with his initial love of the piano. “I chose the piano because when I was still an embryo my mum played the piano and music to me so I fell in love with the piano,” he says matter of factly.

Throughout the interview, Marc struggles to sit still, itching perhaps to get back to his job and hobby, which takes up at least five hours every day. Having started piano lessons at the tender age of three under the watchful eye of Pamela Lam – a renowned piano teacher – Marc was so enthralled by music that a year later he also began learning the cello. However, he now finds it difficult to combine the two.

“I do not really play the cello any more because I do not have the time since I travel a lot,” says the only child of his mother, who lives in California. Given his hectic schedule, it is hardly surprising that Marc and his mother, Chloe, 35, divide their time between the United States and Shanghai, where he receives specialist teaching. This year Marc has already been booked to play in San Remo, Italy, Maryland and California as well as Dubai. On top of that, he also has schoolwork to do and still has to find time for his hobbies.

“I like to swim, but I have not been able to do it lately. I also love ping pong, reading, going to art museums, playing in the park with my friends and cooking,” at which point his mum sings his praises on being a gourmet chef. The pair are inseparable with Chloe managing every aspect of not only his career, but his life too.

“It is really hard to fit everything in especially for my mum and I  thank her very much. She is managing everything, the cooking, driving, teaching, everything,” he says looking at his mother.

Marc who speaks fluent English and Chinese  is so dedicated to his work that he travels with a full-size 88-key paper piano that folds up, so he can practice even when he is waiting to board a plane in an airport lounge. But clocking up those air miles does come at a cost and not just a financial one. For his busy schedule means Marc cannot attend school full time. Whenever he is home in Los Angeles, he joins classes and when he is travelling he keeps up with his schoolwork online. But the child prodigy insists it is no big deal.

“I like home schooling because I  do not have to spend all my time in school but it would be fun to play with other children sometimes.” And with that he jumps off his chair and heads out of the room to perform.

Child prodigies