There will be a variety of music and the pianist will play some of his own compositions. If it’s dance or cooking or sports or art or whatever, I think it’s important to use that and give back to others.”īortnick has Friday’s show all planned. I hope I can do as much as I can for other people and also inspire other people to use their passion or whatever they enjoy, not just music. That’s exactly what I hope to do for the rest of my life. “But for me, the most important thing is to help other people. “For me, doing this and being able to travel is all great, and making music, I love it all,” he said in a telephone interview. Ethan was inspired to use his musical skills to help others. That drive started at age 5, when Nathan underwent three heart surgeries. He began listening to a diverse group of musicians, like Beethoven, Mozart, jazz man Bill Evans, Little Richard, Billy Joel and Elton John.īortnick especially likes performances that help groups and people. The kid had the gift - hearing a song just once, he could play it back note for note.
* At age 9, Bortnick - along with artists such as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, the Black Eyed Peas and Tony Bennett, participated in the “We Are the World - For Haiti” recording in 2010.īortnick has been hitting the keys since age 3, when he asked his parents if he could take piano lessons. * Bortnick is currently the youngest voting member of The Recording Academy, also known as The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (the Grammys). * He shares a musical director - Dave Rosenthal - with Billy Joel. * Bortnick’s 2014 “The Power of Music” concert has aired over 1,500 times on public broadcast television stations. * His television resume has included multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America and Oprah. * His concerts for charity have raised $40 million for non-profit organizations around the world. I had reached out to Butler and IU right now and I’m hoping to hear back from them,” she said.People call Bortnick a child prodigy, and the South Florida musician already boasts a list of cool accomplishments. “I would honestly like to see Elian at a music school. Gomes says she wants him to find new opportunities to grow. Now they live in Indianapolis where Elian met his music teacher. His family moved there from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life. He wants to do his homework with the piano,” Cuevas said.Įlian was born in New York. “He wants to go to sleep after the piano. Elian says he just wants to worship God.Įlian says when he sleeps he can feel the rhythm of his heart and stomach. Cuevas sings and Elian’s dad loves music. His mom Ana Cuevas says he started playing the piano when he was 1 year old. I don’t know if he had ever heard it before,” Gomes said.
“The group that I had been working with sang a song and then he just jumped right on the piano and played the song. His teacher Linda Gomes will show him a new song and after listening to it only once he’ll play it. Elian plays music from Mozart and Beethoven, but that’s not all he can do. He says during the day he plays the piano and at night he has to sleep. INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A young Indianapolis boy is making a name for himself in music.Įlian Cuevas is just 5 years old, but he’s already being called a prodigy by his piano teacher.Įlian loves to play the piano.