Tristan Tran, After his dad mentioned that
Tristan Tran, 11, can play almost
any song, within a half hour of
practicing, on the piano, with no sheet
music, I asked him to play the theme from
the Harry Potter movies.
We were in the living room of the Trans’
Bradenton home - a home chosen partly
because of its location next to a nature
preserve, so as not to disturb neighbors.
The room is a shrine to music, with a
drum set, piano, two keyboards - one
positioned on top of the other - speakers,
amps and a mobile recording studio. The
Trans also own 20 guitars, although not
all of them are housed in the living room.
Even the metal wall art features music
notes and violins.
Tristan sat down at the piano, practiced
for under a minute and played the Harry
Potter song beautifully. He has a real ear
for music, said his dad, Vu Tran, also a
musician. He said his son has the ability
to pinpoint exact notes and hear the
nuances in songs.
“He has perfect pitch,” Vu said. “He left
me in the dust a long, long time ago.”
Pitch Perfect
For six years, Tristan has taken classical
piano lessons from Bradenton instructor
Sung Choe — also a music teacher and
the Visual and Performing Arts Music
Chairperson at Sarasota’s Booker High
School.
While Tristan’s lessons are once a
week for an hour, he practices for at
least an hour a day. Every year, he
performs in the annual District Music
Junior Festival, sponsored by the Florida
Federation of Music Club, as well as in
two recitals organized by Choe. For his
festival, Tristan plays two solo piec-es,
two duet pieces with a partner and a
concerto piece with his teacher. The
solo and concerto pieces are played
from memory.
“Each time he comes to lessons, he
comes prepared, no matter how hard
the pieces are,” Choe said of Tristan.
Piano Man
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton