Ethan Bortnick, a child piano prodigy whose early YouTube videos drew national attention from the likes of Oprah and Jay Leno, will perform at the Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 4:30 p.m.
Ethan has been traveling the country since age eight, playing hits ranging from Beethoven to Justin Bieber — even some of his own original works. He is also able to hear a song once and play it back note for note.
Ethan also uses his talent for numerous causes. He’s raised over $30 million so far performing at charity events alongside Celine Dion and Elton John, among others. Ethan was motivated to raise money for charities, including the American Heart Association, after his younger brother needed three heart surgeries to stay alive.
“I know that there are kids that can not be helped, because of money. That should not happen. Everyone should be able to be helped,” he says.
Advocate interviewed Ethan to learn more about how he got started and what he’s up to these days:
How old are you now? How old were you when you started playing the piano?
I am 12 years old. I started playing a small toy keyboard at age three and then composing music on a real piano at about age four.
Do you remember the first time you composed a song? What was that like?
Yes. I live in South Florida and we have manatees. I thought it would be fun to write a song about them and the adventures they would have if they swam to Antarctica. I wrote a song called Arctic Jazz. I wanted them to have a jazz party when they got to Antarctica.
That sounds pretty cool. Since then, videos of you playing the piano have been published on youtube. Most notably, the videos grabbed the attention of Oprah in 2008, generating quite a buzz about your talent at your age. Do you have any other television appearances scheduled anytime soon?
My PBS concert special, “The Power of Music,” airs nationally starting Dec. 1. I will be traveling the country to do live interviews to talk about the new PBS Show.
You seem pretty disciplined and hard-working for being just twelve-years-old. What do you like to do for fun?
Well… it’s not really work because I really have so much fun! I do what all kids do. I play lots of video games like Pokemon, play sports, go to school (when I am not traveling), and play with my brother and cousins.
(This interview has been edited for brevity.)
Tickets for Bortnick’s performance at The J are $10-$50 and can be purchased online here or by calling at 214.239.7128.
