From Waddell To Carnegie Hall

14-Year-Old Piano Player Continues To Amaze Audiences

William Hsieh, a former Lexington resident who used to wow fellow students and teachers with his extraordinary pianist skills while a student at Waddell Elementary School, is impressing audiences around the country and even internationally these days as his talent has progressed to an elite level.

In early October, the 14-year-old Hsieh performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was invited to perform at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as part of a concert featuring winners of prestigious competitions.

Hsieh, who moved to Washington, D.C, three years ago to pursue his music studies, has won numerous top-level competitions. He won first prize and the Kern Foundation Aspiration Award at the 2022 Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition, first prize and Best Chinese Work at the 2023 International Young Artist Piano Competition, first prize at the National Chamber Ensemble Young Artist Competition and third prize at the 2024 Pacific Stars International Piano Competition.

Hsieh, son of Laura Xie, who works at Virginia Military Institute in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, made his orchestral debut in 2022 with the Levine Chamber Orchestra and has performed at notable venues such as the Dimenna Center in New York, the Sala Anthony Junior Soto in Puerto Rico and the Kosciuszko Foundation in Washington, D.C.

After leaving Lexington in 2021, he attended Levine Music School in Washington, D.C. He is now a ninth-grader at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Md. His current piano teacher is Dr. Ivo Kaltchev, head of piano in the Department of Music at the Catholic University of America.

Born in Palo Alto, Calif., Hsieh lived three to four years in Hangzhou, China, with his grandparents. During that time, he attended kindergarten and began his first piano lessons. When he moved to Lexington, his piano teacher was Dr. Byron Petty, then an instructor in the music department of Washington and Lee University. Another teacher who he recalls fondly is Angie Rader, band director and music teacher at Waddell Elementary.

“Growing up in Lexington, I have so many good memories,” said Hsieh recently in e-mailed comments to The News-Gazette. “One of the best parts was performing in Waddell’s talent shows, which were always super exciting for me.” He noted that Rader, his music teacher, “was amazing at sparking a passion for music among her students. She hosted recitals for her students, so my firstever piano performance was actually in her class.”

Petty, his first piano teacher, “was a huge influence on me, too. He helped me improve so much as a musician and even wrote a piece for me called ‘William’s Waltz,’ which was so cool!

“Another one of my favorite memories was my recital at Kendal [retirement community] on Dec. 24, 2022. It felt special to play for the residents there and share my love of music with them.

“Outside of music, I loved going to soccer games with my friends and hanging out at Just Games Lexington. Last summer, I also went to the cybersecurity camp at VMI. It was awesome learning about technology and security from college professors!”

Rader, who has effusive praise for her former student, remembers how shocked she and others were when they first saw Hsieh play the piano. “When William first came to Waddell, he was in the second grade and was very quiet. It was months before I knew he could play piano and I had no idea how gifted he was.

“I, along with the Waddell community, heard William play for the first time at our annual talent show. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience that evening as everyone was spellbound by his playing. He played two pieces that evening; one of which was so technical that it would have challenged the most skilled adult player, and the other, a more artistic piece that showcased his musicianship. All of this from a second-grader? The audience was stunned!

“After that talent show, William’s classmates would ask for him to play something during each music class. Time did not always allow for this, but when William had something he wanted to play; I would make time for him to share his gift with us. He was exceptional!”

Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic struck midway through his fourth-grade year and continued into his fifthgrade year, causing Hsieh and his fellow students to be relegated to virtual learning for much of the remainder of his time at Waddell. Rader remembers that Hseih did play recorder in the fourth grade, prior to the pandemic, and tried trumpet, taught virtually, for a short time in the fifth grade.

Viewing his progress from afar since then, Rader remarked, “It has been amazing to watch William’s talent flourish over the years and hear about the numerous piano competitions that he has won. I am so proud of William and all he continues to accomplish. He practices many hours every day and is a true testament to hard work paying off.”

Hsieh was 8 1/2 years old when Petty took him on as a piano student.. “It was clear that he had special talents,” Petty recalled. “His previous studies were in China and had mostly concentrated on finger movement, which he certainly had at an amazing speed. We took a momentary step back with some review to focus on larger arm movement and relaxation then ahead with a diverse selection of music. Naturally, at an early age, the hand size is small, and music must be carefully chosen. With many prodigies, the hours put in when young can cause the knuckle joints to settle into a collapsed position.

“As his repertoire grew, William began to enter competitions and did quite well. Though Lexington is a lovely city and has an active music scene, it is too small to offer the amount of interaction with other students in chamber music and performance opportunities. After three and a half years with me, William’s mother and I searched for a solution. The Levine School in D.C. seemed like a good choice with many instructors to choose from. William has thrived in this active environment performing chamber music with other talented children and entering many competitions from local to international, placing and winning in an impressive fashion. Not only has his technique grown, but more importantly his expressiveness, a bonding of technique with the interpretive will. A dazzling technique will stun the listener, but it is the musical expression that touches the emotions. It has been a delight watching this take place with William.”

Petty notes that his former pupil has posted a number of his musical performances on YouTube. “I would recommend his performance of Liszt’s Concert Etude No. 2 (Gnomenreigen), and I am sure everyone will enjoy hearing William playing the Russian composer Nikolai Kapustin’s jazz-influenced piece, Sonatina Op. 100. Also, from 2022, a performance of J. S. Bach’s Clavier Concerto No. 7.”