Carnegie Hall Welcomes 5-Year-Old Piano Prodigy for First Performance

Have you ever met someone who could do something amazing at a young age? Those kids are known as prodigies. 

Prodigies have talents that make them special from others. They can show exceptional skills at such a young age, whether it’s playing an instrument, painting, or solving complex math problems. 

Here’s one example: Meet Alec Van Khajadourian, a 5-year-old piano prodigy who became the youngest person to ever perform at Carnegie Hall. People also call him Baby Mozart!

On July 20, 2025, Alec performed at the NY Classical Debut Awards Gala Concert, which is an international competition open to musicians of all ages. A competition jury chooses performers.

According to Alec’s parents, Joe Khajadourian and Diana Sanders, they realized their son had a special talent when he was just a toddler. In less than a year, he played complicated classical music without sheet music.

Alec also started playing piano when he was just starting to walk. Now, he can perform complete songs. Joe, Alec’s dad, remembers how Alec would crawl over to the piano and play a few notes.

A piano teacher saw potential in him when he was just three and a half years old. She then noticed that Alec has perfect pitch and a great ability to understand music at a young age.

Having a perfect pitch means a person can identify or recreate musical notes just by hearing them. They can also sing or play a note at a specific pitch without listening to it first. 

This talent is rare and is often associated with musicians. Only about 1 in 10,000 people have this skill. His dad said that Alec’s talent grew really quickly.

Alec’s first recital was in April 2024, when he was four years old. He performed with fifth graders, playing “Minuet in G Major” by J.S. Bach and “Ode to Joy” by L.V. Beethoven. 

Then, in January 2025, he performed at LA Valley College in Los Angeles with “Flamenco” by W. Gillock and “Arabesque in A Minor” by F. Burgmüller.

Here’s a fun fact: before his concert at Carnegie Hall, Alec also played at Disney Concert Hall in L.A. and even met Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor of the L.A. Philharmonic.

Now, at just 5 years old, Alec has already won first place in three international music competitions!

Amazing, right? Comment below with your thoughts!