Extraordinary teen Ethan Bortnick brings his talent to town

Being a touring musician is hard. Trying to balance a world tour with your first week of high school is tougher. But that’s everyday life for musical prodigy Ethan Bortnick.

The 14-year-old Bortnick has toured the country and appeared on television shows such as “Oprah,” “Good Morning America” and “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

He began playing piano at age 3 and performing by age 5. In 2012, Guinness World Records named him the youngest performer to headline a solo performance tour, for his work when he was 9.

Bortnick has performed in Japan, South Africa, Brazil and is about to start a 65-date tour throughout the United States between October and May.

Bortnick, who just started high school last month, brings his tour to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Sunday, Oct. 18.

Still, even international music stars have to go through puberty. Over the past year, Bortnick’s voice has begun changing, cracking and deepening in the midst of concerts.

“Does my voice crack? All the time. And it’s not just with a symphony, it’s every single night,” Bortnick said. “You guys would know about it.

“Unfortunately, I can’t stop it. I joke about it in the show, and the audience gets a kick out of it.”

Bortnick said he is the first member of his family to exhibit any musical talent. He said he first became interested in music when he was 3 and attending a Montessori school.

“I was in classes with a lot of kids who were a lot older than me,” Bortnick said. “I saw a lot of them take piano lessons during the day during school.

“I was a curious 3-year-old. I asked my parents, and they said, ‘No, you’re not going to take piano lessons. You’re still in diapers.’ ”

Bortnick said his parents changed their tune when he started re-creating songs he heard on the radio and television on a toy keyboard, translating them to piano tunes by ear.

When they discovered his talent, he said, they immediately enlisted him in piano lessons.

Bortnick emphasized he’s just a normal teenager – when not playing sold-out shows alongside Katy Perry and The Black Eyed Peas. He said fellow students generally treat him normally when he is in class, except for when they’re looking for an autograph.

Bortnick performs a mix of genres, from modern rock ’n’ roll to classical pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Frederic Chopin.

“When I met Elton John for the first time, he asked if I had heard any Chopin music, and because I was 8, I said no,” Bortnick said. “But when Elton John tells you to learn Chopin music, you learn Chopin music.”

When not on tour, Bortnick enjoys drawing and plays a lot of video games in his downtime. He said his favorites are sports games such as the “NBA 2K” and the “Madden Football” series, as well as “Pokemon.”

Bortnick said he’s excited to mix the exciting life of a touring musician with the mundanity of school attendance.

“Of course I would love to go to school every single day,” Bortnick said. “But I love doing this so much, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Extraordinary teen Ethan Bortnick brings his talent to town."