Five-year-old pianist to play Carnegie Hall

18 March 2013, 15:54 | Updated: 18 March 2013, 16:33

A talented young prodigy is preparing to perform in New York and Italy - even before his feet can reach the pedals.

Pint-sized pianist Ryan Wang is set to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall at the tender age of five. The young virtuoso from West Vancouver, Canada, will be playing at the Weill Recital Hall as part of the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, where he finished in second place in the 6-10 age group.

After discovering her son could sing before he could talk, and enjoyed spending hours playing on an electric keyboard, Ryan's mother decided to find him a piano teacher when he was four. He's now made quite an impression at his pre-school music group, wowing the teachers with his virtuosic playing.

When he's not playing piano, Ryan also enjoysTaekwondo and skating, but it seems he'll be playing for quite some time to come: "I like the most… playing piano, playing fast," he said, in an interview with Global TV News. "I think I'm going to play piano, I think, for ten years?"

After a performance New York's Carnegie Hall, Ryan is making an appearance with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, before appearing at Italy's Fazioli Pianoforti concert hall.