Wesley Chu

e's performed for Pope John Paul II, entertained Queen Elizabeth, and helped mark the return of Hong Kong from Britain to China. Having completed all nine grades at Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music in a single year, he's now awaiting the release of his second album. And in September, nine-year-old Wesley Chu began the fifth grade.

Little Artist. Big Piano. Huge Talent.

A prodigy by any definition, Chu came to New York's Avatar Studios this past spring to record Wesley's World, an upcoming Warner Records release, with producer Philippe Saisse. Despite the mismatch in size, the studio's Yamaha Disklavier® DCFIIISPRO piano leapt to his touch.

By no means a mini-adult, the infectiously boyish Chu fidgets, giggles, and plays like any kid his age. He even likes to use the Disklavier's playback feature to fool his classmates: "Sometimes I amaze my friends, because I'll put my hands above the keyboard, and it looks like I'm using magical fingers," he exclaims. "I go, 'Hey, look, I'm Mr. Magic!'"

His description of "Look What You Started," a song he wrote for the new album, also offers a window into a child's mind. "It's about a girl that lost her dog," Chu explains. "Then she found the dog. She's almost scolding the dog, but she still loves the dog."

That mixture of insight and innocence shows up in Chu's sprightly keyboard work. Wesley's World includes his own variation on Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy," a Bach aria, "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Pavane"-alongside "Baby Elephant Walk" and original compositions like "Popcorn" and "Batman."

"I really like the piano that I'm recording on," Chu says of the Disklavier, "because it's got a nice sound and it's really soft. It's easy to play on it; easy to make dynamics on it, and the expressions you put on it work perfectly."

Chu remembers going off to play piano as a toddler while his parents ate dinner. "I don't know how I got up on the bench," he confesses. His mother Lucia says he showed musical interest very early. "When he was three I would read with him and play toys with him - the piano was just the biggest toy," she says.

He does have a thought about the source of his ability, though. "It's like God moves my fingers and I do the pressing," he says.

Virtually......
Limitless Potential

ndrew Schloss received his Ph.D. at Stanford University in 1985 working at CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics). He is a pioneer in new musical instruments, and a trailblazing virtuoso on the Radio Drum, a new instrument he continues to develop. And, he often pairs his Radio Drum with Yamaha Disklavier® pianos to create remarkable interactive computer music and improvisations.

Schloss was a Fulbright Scholar in France in the 80s when he first began to explore the potential of the Radio Drum. It employs two drumsticks to transmit radio frequencies. Used in conjunction with various Disklavier models, Schloss "plays" the piano without ever touching the keys.

"The Disklavier is just really thrilling," continues Schloss. "It's a real piano that has a high artistic level and sounds very good. Even as a non-pianist, it allows me to experiment with cross-modalities. I can play one kind of musical instrument, for instance my Radio Drum, and make the result come out on a piano - which was unthinkable before the Disklavier. It's a fantastic laboratory for experimentation and innovation in music."

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