A six-year-old Chinese-American boy has been hailed as a child prodigy after defeating thousands of applicants from around the world in a prestigious music competition this year. Having won the prize, he got into the famous New York Carnegie Hall, where he performed as one of the youngest performers. Visiting New York for the first time is an exciting experience for many, but William Zhang had an extra reason to smile. In a few days he will be playing at Carnegie Hall.

A 6-year-old girl from Atlanta, Georgia won first prize at the American Protege International Piano and String Competition. What brought him there was an amateur video taken by his father. He plays Mozart, one of his favorite composers along with Bach and Chopin. “Music brings me happiness, and I want to bring happiness to the public,” Zhang said. William’s parents say he always responded to music. “Whenever there is music in the house, he jumps and moves, so we just feel like he loves music,” said Julie Wang, mother of William Zhang.

When he was only two years old, he was bought a piano for $20,000. Their friends thought they were crazy. But they had a premonition that he would like this instrument. Zhang’s parents wanted him to start school at two or three years old, but everyone told them that he was too young. “We feel very upset. He can press a small key and make some beautiful sound, and why don’t you teach him? But no, no one wants to teach him,” Wang said.