Probably some pieces he is not playing for a few months, but he can still perform. "I saw his hand become bigger, he was playing more advanced repertoires. His son said his piano lessons escalated to a new level once his father became his teacher.įei Xu described teaching your own child as a big challenge, but he noticed something special in his son very early. We did not know what would happen, so I would buy him lots of toys to keep him happy," said Fei Xu. His childhood illness had taken a toll on the whole family. His father Fei Xu, an immigrant from China who graduated from Syracuse University said he was very proud of his son. The young man said he hoped to pursue his passion for music by attending a prestigious music school and follow in the footsteps of his parents to be a music teacher or professor someday. He is receiving his high school education through the Arizona Virtual Academy, a tuition-free online school in Arizona.Įven with all his musical accomplishments and medical struggles, Xu is graduating a year early. Partly due to his recovery from the bone marrow transplant, and mostly due to his dedication to music, Xu has always attended an online school. He said he would get lost in his music while playing, and described it as "exhilarating."Īlthough the teen advised that passion alone did not make for a good piano player. It is really a powerful way to communicate," said Xu. He called music a good way to express yourself. "It definitely serves as encouragement, yeah especially to keep going," said the humble teen.
At the age of nine, he won first place at another competition hosted by a Music Teachers Association. Xu was a natural who picked up the keys very fast and showed a talent that is rare in most children his age.Īt the age of six, Xu won first place in a music competition hosted by the Arizona State University, a young artist piano competition. It was not until he was about five years old that his piano teacher mother started giving her son lessons. He also tinkered around on a keyboard they brought into his hospital room. Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin was a favorite. His parents, who are both music teachers, would bring in music into the hospital so Xu could relax to his favorite tunes. His six-year-old sister, who willingly went under the knife to help save her baby brother's life.Įven during this medical struggle, Xu said music helped heal his soul. Xu had to get a bone marrow transplant at that very young age, and after a nationwide search, his donor was found right in his own home. Xu described it as a rare but very serious blood disorder, where your bone marrow is basically damaged and cannot produce blood cells. Samuel Xu was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia when he was just four-years-old. He is a 16-year old boy from Chandler, and he is breaking many barriers in the world of music, even after spending much of his childhood years in and out of hospitals fighting a life-threatening illness.
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