When Colleen Lee talks about Bach or Chopin or a modern contemporary, say American pianist Andre Watts, the 12-year-old assumes the maturity of someone double her age.

But mention Leon Lai-Ming or Anita Mui or Home Alone II, and she slips back into a world shared by most pre-pubescents.

She admires Anita's voice but her concerts are too noisy and those costumes wouldn't work at her own piano recitals.

Leon's face and songs are more memorable than his talent, and no one dances better that Aaron Kwok.

On the subject of music, she blossoms into young adulthood. With the concerns of her peers, her behaviour reassures that childhood thrives.

When Colleen learned she could be photographed in Reeboks, T-shirt and bike pants, instead of the frilly frock her mother brought, her face lit up the way pupils do when they spy the arrival of a substitute teacher.

The APA's junior music student is the current pride of the school and a constant joy to one set of parents and music teacher. Last month, she won first prize in the prestigious Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Piano teacher Eleanor Wong began teaching Lee at the APA in 1987. She is very much a normal 12-year-old, Ms Wong assures.

''When we have parties, Colleen is a little girl, especially with her friends. She giggles and talks about everything, except the piano.'' Of her 18 students she claims Colleen is different musically. ''Technically, she is more advanced and very intelligent. Ordinary kids will play. But Colleen thinks, she responds.

''She is unusual in another respect. Most kids relax in the summer.'' Colleen and her mother leave home together for Wan Chai where Mrs Lee works at Hongkong Telecom. Her daughter detours to the APA. In the evening they return to Kowloon together.

''It's like a nine-to-five job for her,'' continues Ms Wong. ''Practice is lonely but she loves it.'' Colleen describes her teacher as ''very strict''.

''My standard's high because she is so capable,'' Ms Wong adds. ''Parents [of my students] use Colleen as a role model. But all the students know Colleen works the hardest.'' In person, Colleen is all braces and dental rubber bands, long arms and gangly legs. Her thin, narrow hand feels like a silk scarf slipping through a handshake.

Reaching an octave happened very comfortably around her eighth birthday, she recalls, about the time she was introduced to Mozart's Variations. Being born with long fingers helps.

Summer is liberating but not for the reasons repeated by most 12-year-olds. The student who attends Heep Yunn School in Kowloon has more time for piano.

''My friends complain about being bored and having nothing to do. Not me.'' The toughest part about being a gifted 12-year-old competitive pianist is never having enough time to swim, read, draw and play with girlfriends.

''I have lots of friends. My APA friends understand why I don't have time to play. I try to explain to my other friends that practising takes time and patience.'' Over the years she has learned the art of time management. Reading novels can be squeezed in between classes or over lunch. Practising five to six hours daily can be handled by dividing it into three sessions - a little before school, before dinner and after dinner. Television? Just the TV news.

Weekends are for family swims, listening to her father's CD collection and laser discs of famous pianists. She is an only child.

Her father, a draftsman, cannot play a note. But he buys lots of CDs, mostly Baroque and Romantic music. Mrs Lee sings in the church choir.

A favourite laser disc is of Andre Watts. ''I like to look at his hands. His technique is good. He talks to himself when he plays. His fingers sing. His mouth moves.'' The best part of being Colleen Lee, winner of 16 first prize awards, is having lots to do. Like ''flying to the United States by myself and listening to music on those earphones. Going to summer music camp last year at Indiana University and buying souvenirs (notebooks and key chains) for my friends in Hongkong and eating ice cream.

''There's lots of space in the United States. It isn't crowded like Hongkong and there aren't as many buildings. When my girlfriend from the APA moves to Texas to study piano, I want to visit her.'' Of course, there are so many people she meets, such as Chinese pianist Fou Ts'ong - she got his autograph - and the Wilsons and Pattens (she's performed at Government House three times). It's so big. And the Steinway concert grand piano and meeting Soda (one of the Patten's dogs) and Mrs Patten by chance in the hallway before her recital.

''He barked at me and chased me. I just stood there. When Mrs Patten told him to stop, he did. She said she liked my uniform.'' Although Lord and Lady Wilson ''were very kind but he was serious'', Mr Patten is more casual and cheerful.

She practises at home on an Yamaha upright. But a Steinway is her favourite. And a Baldwin, like the kind her host family in Utah owned, is nice, too.

If she could talk to any living composer, it would be Mr Watts. ''I'd ask him how he practises, what method he uses.'' And if she could resurrect some old ones for a chat, it would be Mozart and Beethoven.

''They wrote very difficult pieces. I would ask them how can I make them easier.''