A Musical Mosaic — Julien Rinoie Piano Recital
Los Angeles–
On the afternoon of December 14th, which was filled with love and hope, the Fang Foundation held a piano recital “A Musical Mosaic” for Julien Rinoie in San Marino that was full of emotion and musical charm.
Julien Rinoie, just turned 15 and is in the 9th grade this year. He started learning music at the age of nine. He is not good at expressing himself, has very few words, and does not like to communicate with others; he is a very introverted child. He has a learning disability, and since childhood, his mother has taken him to various therapies and courses. Every day, in addition to school, he has to go through a variety of different classes after school, and he often stays up late to finish everything. Although it is tough, all the courses and therapies seem to have shown little improvement. Despite this, his mother continues to take him everywhere to try and find new learning and treatment options.
Until the age of nine, when he returned to Taipei and met his mentor, a kind piano professor from National Cultural University. On the first day of class, she played a relatively simple yet delightful Bach piece. His mother accompanied him and noticed his eyes and expression; the originally expressionless Julien suddenly blinked and became fixated on the piano keys. Although he was not good with words, the music seemed to touch his little heart. He realized that music could be so beautiful, and the sound of the piano was indeed wonderful. From that day on, since there was no piano at home in Taipei, he learned by ear every day, practicing his homework by listening, so that he could play it the next day during music class.
His mother finally discovered his interest in music and kept most of his time reserved for music learning. During that summer through the end of the year, in just a few months, his practice time increased from three minutes a day to nearly three hours daily. He progressed from level 0 (no level) to being able to play level 6 pieces and participated in a competition at the end of the year, winning second place in his first music award.
He loves music, enjoys it, and music became his only friend. From that moment on, he formed an inseparable bond with music. He is a hardworking child, attending school during the day, continuing his previous courses in the afternoon, and practicing piano every night, often until nearly midnight.
In August 2024, he performed a solo charity concert at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei, NT $50,000, which was fully donated to the Autism Foundation of the Republic of China. That summer, he also held a concert at National Taiwan University Hospital to perform for patients, healing their hearts.
These past few years of learning piano have been joyful and diverse. Every year, he participates in music masterclasses hosted by renowned piano professors from abroad. He has also performed in Italy and will be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York in December. He achieved second place in an online competition in the United States and will perform at the winners’ concert at Carnegie Hall. In 2024, he began participating in various performances and some small international competitions, aiming to exchange experiences with piano players and enthusiasts from different countries.
He is currently study piano with a Korean teacher at Colburn School and a professor at USC Thornton School of Music.
