At only 9 years old, a student in Da Lat has won coveted international music awards. That is Nguyen Thien Sang, currently a 3rd grader at Doan Thi Diem Primary School, Da Lat City.
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| Thien Sang is performing music in Da Lat |
As the son of a family with a father who loves music and plays the piano, Sang was exposed to music from a young age, but it was not until he was 6 years old that Sang's natural talent was discovered. According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa, Thien Sang's father, when he went to kindergarten at a private school in Da Lat to prepare for first grade, the teachers there told the family that Sang was very active. So Mr. Khoa asked the school if there were any additional activities for Sang to participate in, and the school said there was a music class. The family sent Sang to this music class and Sang learned very quickly, which surprised the school greatly.
Some time later, the family sent Sang to music lessons before entering first grade. Thien Sang learned to play the piano at a famous music center in Da Lat. Here, in just a short time, Thien Sang was able to do difficult exercises, all the exercises given were completed by this boy very quickly, far surpassing the other students. At the age of 6, studying first grade while also taking piano lessons, within 1 year, Thien Sang was able to play all the exercises, big and small, according to the center's curriculum fluently, many exercises were far beyond his age. So the teacher in charge of the center suggested that the family should find a highly qualified music teacher to tutor Thien Sang.
At the age of 7, when he was in 2nd grade, on a trip to Ho Chi Minh City to buy a new guitar for his son to replace the old one that his family had been playing for a long time, Mr. Khoa was lucky to have this large guitar store introduce him to a famous guitar teacher in Ho Chi Minh City for Sang to study. This teacher, knowing that Thien Sang lived far away, had a very special teaching program. Every 2-3 weeks, the family would take Thien Sang from Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City to the teacher's house and study for 1-2 days on the weekend. The teacher would directly instruct him during these 2 days, then give him homework to practice. Mr. Khoa said that every 2 or 3 weeks, he would take his son back to Ho Chi Minh City for the teacher to check his lessons and guide him through new exercises for 1 day, then return to Da Lat at night so Thien Sang could go to school.
Just like that, after only 8 months, studying culture at school and practicing piano at home with frequent trips back and forth between Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City, Thien Sang had finished playing all the exercises in the teacher's curriculum. Witnessing the amazing progress, the teacher introduced Thien Sang to another Piano teacher in Ho Chi Minh City - who had studied in Europe and is currently a lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music. This new teacher also followed the old teaching method with Sang, which means that every 2-3 weeks, the family would take Sang to Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday or Sunday for the teacher to teach directly, check the old lessons assigned and give homework for the next 2 weeks. The teacher observed and listened to the practice at home over the phone, when needed, she would give further instructions on technique and how to play.
“I am also a piano player and almost every song I have to practice, practice and practice repeatedly to remember, but my son learns the song very quickly. He has a good memory, he only needs to listen to it a few times to remember it, even though some classical songs written for piano are very long with very difficult passages. Most of his teachers really like this ability of his, just need to play it once for him to remember and play it,” said Mr. Khoa.
According to Ms. Ho Xuan Huong, Thien Sang's mother, he is very obedient, disciplined, diligent, affectionate, studies hard, and is the deputy disciplinary officer of the class he is currently studying. "At a young age, he is also active, likes sports, likes playing badminton, likes riding bicycles with friends of the same age, but he has a great passion for music. In addition to the class homework that must be completed at home, he also has music homework assigned by his teacher, so he has to practice hard every day according to the assigned schedule to complete the homework as required by the teacher. He has to stay at home to practice the piano, and every 2-3 weeks on the weekend he goes to Ho Chi Minh City, while his friends are having fun, Thien Sang has to sit with the piano, so it's a pity, but music is what he loves the most, so the family tries to create the best conditions for him to develop," Ms. Huong added.
Thien Sang's remarkable progress, excellent musical sense, natural ability to play the guitar, and "born to play the guitar" made music teachers love this boy very much.
They encouraged the family to try to let him compete in major national and international classical music competitions. And then, with his talent, the 7-year-old boy looked small in front of the big pianos but conquered the judges in major competitions. International awards came one after another, including very valuable ones.
At the age of 7, Thien Sang achieved Grade 5 of the British Music Council ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) with excellent scores. When he was just 8 years old, Thien Sang was honored to be selected to perform Concerto in A major K.414 with the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Tran Nhat Minh. In the past 2 years alone, Thien Sang has won major international awards such as: Third prize in the International Grand Opus Piano Competition; Second prize in the International Mozart Piano Competition in Vienna; Gold prize in the Singapore International Music Festival; First prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition in Austria; Special prize for Young Music Talent in Atlanta, USA and the Asian International Gold prize (SIU Piano Competition 2024).
When we visited Thien Sang’s house, he was still at school. Thien Sang’s aunt, Ms. Jenifer Chau, on behalf of the family, said: “Our family is very happy and proud to see that Thien Sang, despite being very young, has achieved such great achievements. To achieve this, he had to go through a process of studying hard and making great efforts, despite his young age. Along with that, our family has always accompanied and made every effort to help him develop his talent.”
To create the best conditions for Thien Sang on his musical path, Thien Sang's parents said that the family is currently preparing all conditions so that in 2025, when Thien Sang is old enough according to the school's requirements, he will take the entrance exam to Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music.
Source: http://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202502/khi-tai-nang-khong-doi-tuoi-4031ec9/
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