At some point over the last 18 months, each of us has probably thought about taking up some new pastime. Some of us have even followed through — a gesture at self-improvement or just a way not to go stir-crazy in COVID times.
Last fall, Brigitte Xie took up the piano. Now, just a year later, she's become the youngest winner of the prestigious Elite International Music Competition. The prize? A performance on stage at Carnegie Hall.
Even more impressive: Brigitte is 4 years old.
Here she is performing recently on ABC's Live With Kelly & Ryan.
Brigitte's dad, Tao Xie signed her up to take Zoom piano classes when she was 3 years old (and two months!) as a way to pass the time during the pandemic.
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Her mom, Nicole Sun also plays — though they've had to add a special stool to their home set up so that Brigitte has somewhere to put her feet when she is at the keys (otherwise her feet dangle when she sits on the piano bench).
There is a bit of a wrinkle to her prize though: Carnegie Hall currently requires all performers to be fully vaccinated — and at only 4, Brigitte is still too young for the vaccine. No word yet on if Carnegie Hall will give Brigitte a rain check on her performance.
Regardless, congratulations to Brigitte! You've inspired us all to double down on our pandemic hobbies.
This story originally ran onthe Morning Edition live blog.
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