“I’ve watched him grow and
develop and it has just been
a really rewarding experience
for me.”
Choe said some students
play piano at the same level
for years, or come to lessons
with excuses for why they
didn’t practice.
“With Tristan, it was nothing
like that,” Choe said,
noting how diligent and
hard-working he is. “He
was just going forward and
forward and forward. He was
learning so fast and so well.
He’s very talented.”
According to Choe, each
year that Tristan went to the
junior festival, he had to skip
a few levels be-cause he
advanced so quickly.
Classical music is not Tristan’s only
passion. Because of his father’s
background - Vu Tran plays electric and
acoustic guitar and was in a rock band in
the 1990s in Ohio - Tristan was introduced
to rock and roll at a very young age. When
Tristan’s mother, Mui Ho, was pregnant
with him, Vu would play songs to him on
his classical nylon-string guitar.
“I was hoping one day the baby would
share my love of music,” Vu said.
He got his wish. Today, father and son jam
together every Sunday, at least. While Vu
plays guitar, Tristan plays either drums (he
is self-taught), piano, or his two-keyboard
contraption, which allows him to play with
one hand on each.
As for the types of songs they play, Vu
said, “We’re stuck in the 80s.” But Tristan
also writes his own music, which has its
own unique sound. They upload music
videos of themselves to their YouTube
channel, ESPTRAN (their family band
name is T3). Sometimes, Tristan’s sister
Maya, 7, accompanies him on the piano
or sings. Tristan’s good at singing, but he
doesn’t love it, he said.
While Tristan enjoys playing all his
instruments, he said learning the piano
first gave him his solid musical foundation.
“The piano is where my rhythm came
from,” he said. “The piano helps you
develop tempo.”
Diligent, Disciplined
and Determined
Tristan, a straight-A student who’ll be
attending Nolan Middle School this fall,
has other talents besides classical piano
and rock music. For one, he can easily
solve a Rubik’s Cube in under one minute
(his record is 28 seconds). Also,
he won his elementary school’s speech
contest and represent-ed Braden River
Elementary at the 4-H/Tropicana Public
Speaking County Contest this past
school year.
For the last two years, his school
selected Tristan to attend the Florida
Elementary Music Educators Association
(FEMEA) All-State Orff Ensemble, where
elementary students sing and use musical
instruments like recorders, hand drums
and xylophones. He was the only fourth
grader from his school to make it, and in
the fifth grade, he was one of only four
students from Braden River Ele-mentary.
Also, Tristan has been practicing karate
since he was five years old, and has a
first-degree black belt.
“For a kid his age, that’s a big
accomplishment,” said Jessie Vi, Tristan’s
karate instructor. “Six years is a long time
for a kid.”
When Vi speaks of Tristan, it’s obvious
he’s impressed by his gifts, but is just
as impressed by what Tristan is like as
a person.
“Tristan is a very respectful boy,” Vi said.
“Very kind, very considerate and very nice
to his friends.”
Vi said he sees a link between Tristan’s
success in both music and karate.
Both activities demand pa-tience,
determination, focus and self-discipline.
Both involve rhythm and movement. And
both re-quire sacrifice: Tristan spends
several hours each week practicing karate
and music.
“If there’s one word I can say about him,
it’s ‘proud,’” Vi said. “I’m so proud.”
85