这位医生真棒! Dentistry Student Is Star Pianist: Thomas Yu wasn't prepared for the crowd's reaction when he finished playing the piano."The audience was just electric," he recalled."They just started roaring and shouting Yu!Yu! and I hadn't even let off my pedal."
Yu admitted he pulledout all the stops at the 17th international competition for the recentOutstanding Piano Amateurs in Paris, a competition featuring top levelamateur pianists from 30 countries.He chose highly technical pieces by FranzLiszt and French composer Henri Dutilleux -- delighting the home crowdin the prestigious Salle Gaveau but leaving little room for error.His risk paid off: not only did he win top prize from the jurors, but also placed first in judging by the press critics and earning the audience choice award."I've never experienced anything of that grandiose scale," he said.
Yu started playing piano at four and stillpractises religiously despite the demands of working toward a master'sin periodontology."I'm in school all day and practise all night, it makes for very longdays," he said.As a reward, Yu gets to lead a double life: mild-mannered dentist by day and intense musician by night."Dentistry involves a lot of thinking and also a lot of etiquette in terms of dealing with patients," he said."In music, you're reacting and it also allows me to be more of an animal!"
With offers to perform in Florence, Tokyo, Washington as well two confirmed dates with the Paris Orchestra, Yu admits hehis life balanced but for now he's enjoying his success."This win is an encouragement that I've made the right choices," Yu said.