Mini Mozart's degree at 11: Musical prodigy graduates from Trinity College London
Prodigy: At the age of 11, Curtis Elton has become the youngest person in the world to gain a university
degree in music
Curtis Elton, who lives in Barnet, began playing the piano aged just three
Now become youngest person to get a university music degree, aged 11
Key to his success are two hours of practice a day and plenty of pasta
The 'Mini Mozart' appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2011 and 2014
음악 영재 '커티스 엘튼'
11살이다
그는 올해 영국의 명문 음대인 '트리니티 칼리지 런던'을 영재로 최연소
졸업해 세계에서 가장 어린 음악 학위 취득자가 됐다.
3살때부터 피아노를 시작했고 성공의 결정적인 요인은 매일 2시간의
연습에 있었다.
'미니 모짜르트'로 불리는 커티스 엘튼은 2011년과 2014년에
'갓 탤런트' 방송에 출연하기도 했다.
by Ki Chul Hwang
Conpaper Editor Distributor @conpaper
황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터
By Andrew Levy for the Daily Mail
He began playing the piano when his hands were too small to span an octave.
Now, at the age of 11, Curtis Elton has become the youngest person in the world to gain a university degree in music.
The prodigy – known as Mini Mozart – 'graduated' with a Licentiate of Trinity College London in piano playing, equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree.
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Curtis, who started learning the piano when he was three, practices on a white Yamaha grand piano
The secret of his success was a minimum of two hours of training every day – and plenty of pasta, according to his mother, to keep his energy up.
Curtis, who practises on a white Yamaha grand piano at home in Barnet, north London, said: 'I was a bit nervous at the beginning of the exam but when I started playing I wasn't nervous anymore.'
The youngster started learning the piano when he was three and was reading music by the following year, when he passed his Grade I exam.
He sailed through his Grade 8 exam when he was eight and two years ago became the youngest person to pass a piano exam equivalent to the first year of a university degree.
Curtis sat the 37-minute LTCL exam in November, playing pieces mostly from memory including Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat and Mozart's Sonata in F.
He also had to write a 1,000-word programme about the pieces and the histories of the composers.
He learned he had passed a few weeks ago. The chief examiner commented he performed the Mozart piece with 'much virtuosity' and his fingers moved 'nimbly and easily' in a Chopin work.
Curtis Elton has become the youngest person in the world to gain a university degree in music, aged 11
The secret of his success was a minimum of two hours of training every day – and plenty of pasta, according to his mother Hayley, 41, a professional concert pianist (pictured together, right)
Curtis, who was home schooled but is now enrolled at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, has popular heroes including Elton John and Liberace but aspires to be a concert pianist.
'I would like to play at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Royal Opera House,' he said.
'Last year I played in front of 2,000 people in Valencia, Spain. I had my own police because there was a huge queue of people and I was signing autographs for an hour.'
The youngster, who lives with mother Hayley, 41, a professional concert pianist, father Jonathan, 45, a graphic designer, and younger sister Sophie, ten, was invited onto Britain's Got Talent in 2011 and 2014.
But he failed to make the final selection despite getting three yes votes from judges during the auditions.
He has also appeared on Channel 4's Child Genius programme.
Curtis has appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2011 and 2014, but did not make the final selection
Curtis has said he would like to play at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Royal Opera House
Mrs Elton said she had wanted her son to complete the exam before starting his GCSE courses but was amazed at how quickly he absorbed all the information.
She added: 'It was like training for a marathon. I was feeding him pasta for energy and making sure he had regular drinks.
'We practised the programme in sections and then did a few runs of the whole 37 minutes in the weeks before the exam.
'Curtis didn't practise the night before the exam so he would be fresh in the morning.
'It was a very demanding programme and it was very technical. Some pieces were very fast. He loves performing in front of people, so that wasn't a problem.'
A Trinity College London spokesman said: 'Trinity is proud to support young musicians as they progress and set out on a lifetime of musical appreciation and achievement.'
