Piano prodigy plays Calgary for the 1st time

CBC
Pianist Ethan Bortnick, 12, played in Calgary for his first time Tuesday night.

Piano prodigy Ethan Bortnick made his first appearance in Calgary last night.

The 12-year-old holds the Guinness World Record for being the youngest musician to host a solo concert tour.

Bortnick says he started playing at an early age.

“When I was three years old, on a little toy keyboard, I just started mimicking everything that I heard and then I asked my parents for piano lessons. They're like, ‘yeah, sure,’ and, yeah, the rest is history.”

And though Bortnick has performed with Justin Bieber and Elton John, he says he still gets a chance to do what other kids his age do.

“To be honest with you, literally one minute before the concert, I'm still playing Angry Birds backstage.”

The pianist has raised more than $30 million for different charities including Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

He also stars in and co-wrote the music for a movie coming out in September titled Anything is Possible.