Like many parents, Tao Xie and Nicole Sun started looking for something to keep their 3-year-old busy during the novel coronavirus lockdown.
Nicole plays a little piano, so the Ridgefield, Connecticut, couple signed their daughter Brigitte up for lessons over Zoom. Her teacher, Felicia Feng Zhang, instantly recognized that Brigitte has a special gift when it comes to tickling the ivories.
Felicia said Brigitte “picked up more in six months than most do in years’ worth of lessons.” The little girl quickly learned how to read sheet music and sight-read classical pieces virtually. When it was safe enough, Brigitte began attending lessons in person in her teacher’s Greenwich, Connecticut, home.
A year later, everyone in Brigitte’s orbit recognized that they had a child prodigy on their hands!
“At the beginning, I never expected that she’s going to be a prodigy or anything,” her proud dad said. “But yeah, it turns out it’s amazing.”
“Brigitte came to me when she was just two months after 3 years old,” Felicia said. “From the lessons, I observed she has a curious mind and she loves to learn. We call that passion.”
The music teacher was eager for Brigitte to share her talents with the world through competitions, but they had no idea how far she would fly. At age 4, Brigitte just became the youngest winner of the prestigious Elite International Music Competition! The prize is something most musicians spend their lives dreaming of achieving: a live performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The only fly in the ointment is that the famed performance hall requires all performers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. At 4, Brigitte is too young to receive the shots, so she may not be able to reap the rewards of her prize just yet.
Whether she makes it to Carnegie Hall this year or not, we know this little one is going places. Keep having fun, Brigitte!
Watch Brigitte performing for Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” in the video below, and don’t forget to share this incredible story.
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