Musical Prodigy Hits All the Right Notes

Marc Yu, Appearing on Leno tonight, August 9, can capture the beauty of classical music like a pro even before he turns 7.

By LYNDA LIN, Assistant Editor, Pacific Citizen

MONTEREY PARK—Six-year-old Marc Yu is like any other child his age. He likes to kick soccer balls, swat ping-pong balls and demolish opponents in a mean game of Hang Man.

But with cello in hand, Marc is transformed. Eyes softly shut, his fingers dance fluidly across the strings and floods the room with music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Vivaldi. His repertoire also includes piano concertos. He conjures Bach and Mozart with ease, but needs a special extender for his little legs to reach the pedals. One of his goals, he said, is “to grow” his hands to reach the piano’s octave.

Marc is a musical prodigy.

For a recent performance in a Monterey Park, Calif. elementary school auditorium, Marc arrived through the back door dressed in a tiny elegant tuxedo complete with tails. Pre performance, he bounded across the room packed to capacity with an excited, mostly Asian American audience. On his hands, he wore teal gloves. On his feet, red socks.

“Marc is a very adorable boy and he is so cute that I wouldn’t think of him as a prodigy when I play with him,” said Pamela Lam, his first piano teacher.

Marc is also a consummate performer. Every note and musical crescendo is accompanied with the perfect emotional facial expression. His mom, Chloe, said he studies the expressions of his favorite musical idols — Yo-Yo Ma and Lang Lang — from his vast collection of concert DVDs.

He practices up to six hours a day or until Chloe stops him for a walk in the park or swimming lessons. He also has a publicist and his own Web site.

“He’s just a normal six-year-old boy playing sports, playing in dirt,” she said, adding, “He loves the stage. He loves performing.”

For now, the world is Marc’s stage. He’s been the focus of several newspaper articles and television shows, including an upcoming spot on “The Jay Leno Show” Aug. 9, where he will play one minute of piano and 30 seconds of cello. He’s also received the green light to crack a few jokes. He’s been testing one of his favorites at a few of his performances.

“What do you use to clean a tuba? Tub-a toothpaste,” he says and then pauses for laughter.

But it’s not always fun and games. A lot of responsibilities come with nurturing a prodigy and for a single mom like Chloe, 32, that means a lot of sacrifices.

“Money is needed for music lessons, art supplies, special summer programs, private schools etcetera,” said Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston College. She also points out that if a child were truly a prodigy, scholarship funds would be plentiful.

Marc has won his share of awards including being the youngest ever Davidson Fellow with a cash prize of $10,000. But even with his award-winning raw talent, Chloe is feeling the pinch in the pocketbook.

“I don’t have much time to myself, especially now that he graduated from kindergarten. I’m struggling,” she said, adding, “He’s very intimidating. He asks me a lot of musical questions and other questions too.”

Marc’s latest query was about American history, specifically World War II. He asked how many people died and what happened at Pearl Harbor. He comes up with these questions not through TV or radio (he doesn’t partake in either), but from the many mommy-and-me field trips to the library and museums.

In order to quench his never ending thirst for knowledge, Chloe wakes up at 4 a.m. daily to prepare his musical lessons and research questions he asked the day before. She also answers most of the comments left on Marc’s Web site message board. This fall, Chloe plans to start home schooling him. Marc reads at a fifth grade level and his math skills are at a sixth grade level. He has also written ten of his own musical compositions.

Chloe does not work and relies on child support checks to survive. They want to start a non-profit organization to help fund Marc’s musical education. 

And more help is coming soon. Some family friends are moving into their back house to help baby-sit, but not all have been supportive. Marc’s father and some family members have criticized Chloe for not allowing Marc to have more “normal” pastimes, namely video games and TV.

“A lot of people think he’s good because he practices so much, but what people don’t know is that he’s going out and taking breaks,” she said, adding that the criticism comes from people who don’t understand and don’t know Marc.

But the long term risks and concerns are high when it comes to child prodigies, said Winner, because not many make a successful transition to adulthood.

What is a prodigy to do when all the attention and applause stop?

“Many [prodigies] also have difficult stressful lives, and feel like failures when they do not make the transition from prodigy to adult creator,” said Winner, adding that parents should be careful not to live vicariously through the child.

For all intents and purposes, Chloe was an aspiring musician herself, but she wasn’t fortunate enough to have supportive parents. Growing up in Macau, she had to save her own money to buy an electronic keyboard and take lessons. She played Marc a lot of Beethoven while he was still nestled in her womb.

Chloe’s concerns as a mother are natural — she wants to support Marc’s dreams. He wants to play with the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic. He wants to become a composer and a conductor.

It’s a dream that may not be far off with the L.A. Philharmonic expressing interest in Marc.

Ed Yim, LA Philharmonic director of artistic planning, said engaging Marc in the philharmonics will happen organically, but they need to make sure Marc is ready.

“We need to get to know him and his musicianship and his maturity level,” he said. “It’s all about protecting the artist.”

But for now, Chloe said Marc is not ready. He’s given his last performance and will take some time off to learn a new repertoire.

He still has a lot of time to be a kid and his newfound fame hasn’t affected him much, according to his mom.

“He’s flattered that they call him prodigy. But he’s told me that he would rather people remember him by his real name, Marc Yu.”

Catch Marc on the Jay Leno Show Aug. 9! For more information on how to help, visit www.marc-yu.org.