Arlington Heights piano prodigy to study with Lang Lang

Five years ago, Joshua Mhoon had never touched a piano.

Next month, the Arlington Heights 12-year-old will be in Austria with nine other prodigies, practicing and performing with Lang Lang, one of the world's great pianists.

When he was 7½, Mhoon's parents took him for music lessons hoping it would help him do better in math. His young hands were too small to play the guitar so the teacher suggested piano lessons instead.

After about 15 minutes in a practice room with Joshua, the piano teacher came out to ask how long the boy had been playing.

“We looked at each other and laughed. We said, ‘Joshua doesn't play piano. We don't even own a piano,'” said his father, Jun Mhoon.

Intrigued, Jun followed the teacher back into the room where Joshua was playing “Minuet in G Major,” an advanced piece for any child, much less one who had never read music before.

The years that followed were a whirlwind of lessons and competitions. Joshua won several major music festivals and performed across the U.S. and Europe.

In mid-November Joshua will spend a week studying with Lang at the Allianz Junior Music Camp in Vienna. From Nov. 17-24 he will rehearse twice a day with some of the best piano teachers in the world and perform concerts for local children.

The family was “ecstatic” when Joshua was named among the top 50 students who auditioned for Allianz. They never dreamed he would be one of the 10 finalists chosen to go.

Their son is one of only two “music ambassadors” accepted to Allianz from the United States. The other eight select spots went to children from Spain, Italy, Austria, Poland, China, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.

Joshua, a seventh-grader at Palatine's Quest Academy, is beyond excited.

“It's going to be a great experience to meet kids from around the world who are like me with their love for music, their skills and technique,” Joshua said. “It's just an honor. And, I'm representing America, which is amazing.”

But he is most looking forward to studying with Lang, whom he calls his piano idol.

“He is the first pianist I really liked because of his passion and how he expressed himself,” Joshua said. “I love how he moves his body and the music is really coming through him.”

Joshua studies music at the Merit School of Music in Chicago and with Brenda Huang of Palatine.

“Joshua exemplifies how access to a high-quality music education can transform a young person's life,” said Charles Grode, president and executive director of the Merit School of Music, in a news release.

To perform at his level, Joshua practices two to three hours each day. He has a passion for performing and he's pretty good at it, too.

He took first place in Merit's Conservatory Private Lessons Scholarship Competition in 2014, placed first twice at the Chicago Music Teachers Association competition and captured first place three times at the Illinois Granquist Music Competition.

“When I get on stage it's like butterflies are running through my stomach,” Joshua said. “But then I sit down and start playing and it just flows right through me. It's very exciting and fun. There's a lot of adrenaline going through me at that moment.”

Music is in Joshua's blood. Jun Mhoon had a significant career as a drummer touring with the Staple Singers and performing with other notable artists such as Thad Jones, Jessy Dixon, Paul Simon and the Count Basie Orchestra before starting his own music label, I AM Music, and teaching at Harold Washington College and Columbia College in Chicago.

Jun says his son loves playing baseball and video games like ordinary boys but acknowledges his talents are far from normal.

Teachers would suggest the Mhoons have Joshua tested, concerned he might have ADHD. He was frequently distracted or in the principal's office. When they took him for an IQ test, however, they realized Joshua had just been bored. Now he is a member of Mensa, the famed high IQ society.

The family moved from Oak Park to Arlington Heights in recent years to bring Joshua closer to both academic and music teachers who could keep up with his quick growth.

“It's a little overwhelming because he is really just a regular kid,” said Jun, who will accompany Joshua to Austria. “To him it's like no big deal. He doesn't see himself as special. We're very proud of him.”