UK piano boy dubbed a ‘Mozart’ at early age

October 10, 2009 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Shane Thomas started playing aged seven

A UK boy is considered to be a piano prodigy and is compared with “Mozart” after taking 4 months of formal lessons.

Shane Thomas tried piano for the first time when he was seven, and he found he could play by ear from the start. But Shane knew well before the age of seven that he had the ability to play the instrument.

“I told Dad when I was three that I could play, but nobody took me seriously,” said Shane to the Daily Telegraph.

But eventually Shane’s father, Clayton, caught on and bought seven-year-old Shane his first keyboard. Clayton said that from the very first day, Shane was playing the keyboard comfortably with both hands.

“It was Christmas and straight away he was playing carols like ‘Little Donkey’ and ‘Away in a Manger’ without guidance,” said Clayton. “Within weeks he played all sorts of complex music and after four months he was performing to 2,000 people at a show in Manchester.”

Shane’s piano tutor, Richard Goffin-Lecar, says that Shane is a “unique” boy. “He takes the word gifted to another dimension. Many would consider it pretentious to compare him with Mozart but if one were to listen to him play, one would know it was legitimate.”

“I did not so much teach him as give him direction then sit back and watch. Technically he is phenomenal,” stated Goffin-Lecar. He went on to compare Shane to a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the celebrated 18th century composer who demonstrated incredible ability to play and compose at an early age.