Hong Kong’s brilliant twin pianists
Tremendous progress since taking lessons from piano maestro Liu Shikun
Winners of the Pacific Rim International Music Festival
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Winners of the Pacific Rim International Music Festival
In November 2021, nine-year-old twin brothers Jayden and Brayden Sung were informed by the Second Pacific Rim International Music Festival that they won the Second Prize (Children’s Category) in the North America Division at the festival, against more than 2,000 participants. Each of them also won a Special Prize. This year, the festival selected three contestants from all prize-winners in the Children’s Category and awarded each of them a Special Prize. Two of the three prizes went to the twin brothers. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada where the festival was held, sent a congratulatory note to the organising committee of the annual event and to all prize winners. Next summer, Jayden and Brayden will head to the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York to perform in the capacity of the festival’s Special Prize winners.
Awards and applause don’t come out of the blue. Born in Canada, Jayden and Brayden study at Harrow International School Hong Kong. They did not dive into the world of piano playing by chance. Their elder sister Audrey Sung fell in love with music as a child, and the piano became her passion. With her outstanding talent, Audrey has emerged internationally as a budding artist in recent years, winning numerous piano competitions at home and abroad. The young rising star pianist, together with her music dreams, has had a subtle influence on her twin brothers. The duo started piano lessons two years ago. Like their sister, they have been blessed by the muse of music. A year ago, they started taking lessons from renowned Chinese piano maestro Liu Shikun. Under Liu's encouragement and guidance, Jayden and Brayden have grown increasingly confident about their playing, and their skills have improved tremendously.
Diligence is the key to success. At Harrow International, the studies are intense, and children generally love playing and running around. But as they have chosen to play the piano, Jayden Brayden must overcome the challenge of working with boring sheet music and memorising the scores. They practise three to four hours a day and seven days a week without any holiday. Unlike other children of the same age, they never get to have fun at Disneyland or Ocean Park.
Jayden and Brayden only started taking piano lessons two years ago, but with their talent, passion for music and hard work, their piano playing skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Playing together with four hands is now their unique forte and also a signature performance they give at Harrow International. They have been invited to perform at events within and outside the school. Onstage, they display a rapport that is rare in child pianists, and that makes them all the more unique and popular. The duo is also well-versed in many world-famous repertoires, including the Piano Sonata, K.545, 1st Movement by Mozart, Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor, B. 150, Mozart’s Sonata K.330, and Prokofiev’s Tarantella. According to Liu Shikun, the two brothers are already above grade 8.
A show of prodigious talent
On Boxing day, December 26, 2021, the Pallas Piano Academy in Hong Kong joined hands with China Global Music Education Association to host a special concert featuring Jayden and Brayden. On the heartwarming holiday, the two young musicians had the opportunity to present their outstanding talent and celebrate the jovial day with the audience with their touching piano music.
The duo started with their masterly piano four hands. The first piece was Defend the Yellow River by Xian Xinghai, followed by Johann Strauss’ Radetzky Marsch, Op. 228. Jayden and Brayden worked wonders together, with their four hands running over the keyboard in a dazzling performance.
Piano maestro Liu Shikun then led his two disciples to perform Bizet’s Soldiers’ Chorus from Carmen and Schubert’s Military Marches Op. 51. Afterwards, Jayden went solo with Mozart’s Sonata in G Major, K.283, Movement[2]. That was followed by Brayden’s solo performance of Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, K.330, Movement[3]. The brothers’ excellent and vivid performance was met with rapturous applause from the audience.
During the show, the boys’ elder sister Audrey also took to the stage, performing Beethoven’s Sonata in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 1. The audience was stunned and impressed by her professional skills.
Liu Shikun spoke highly of the duo’s brilliant performance. He noted that although the young boys started taking lessons from him only a year ago, their skills are actually above grade 8. The maestro added that the show was a big success and he was thoroughly pleased with what they delivered. “These two apprentices haven’t made me lose face. Rather, they have given me face!” Liu quipped.
Commitment to charity work at a young age
Without doubt, Jayden and Brayden have great talent in music, but their parents also work hard to make sure the boys have good moral education and are sporty. They often accompany them to do charity and volunteer work. Together with Audrey, Jayden and Brayden take part in local beach cleanup campaigns on a regular basis. They also work as volunteer musicians for charity groups, bringing beautiful music experiences to orphans and children with mental disabilities.
Apart from the piano, the two also love playing the violin and have reached grade 4. On the sport front, they have been swimming for some years. This year, they took part in an inter-school swimming qualifier and achieved great results: in the breaststroke and backstroke categories, only about 30 swimmers, including four students from Harrow International, reached the set standard, and Jayden and Brayden were among the four.
Playing the piano is a great way to train the the twins’ ability to persevere, enhance their cognitive function and improve their studies. According to their father, before the two boys took up the piano, only 30 percent of their coursework was graded “excellent”, but now the rate is 60 percent. Looking to the future, Jayden and Brayden note that their idols include Liu Shikun, legendary masters Liszt and Beethoven, as well as medical doctors who protect human health and scientists who change human lives. They aspire to become a scientist who can play the piano, and a pianist who has a scientific mind. They aspire to have a “slash career” and be an expert in two professions.
Pursuing music dreams despite the pandemic
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Jayden and Brayden were relentless in their pursuit of their music dreams, marking many milestones in 2021:
- 2021.06.26 Invited to perform at the Great Women of the Century in China Concert, one of the programmes celebrating the Hong Kong handover
- 2021.07.23 Invited to perform at the grand opening ceremony of the Pallas Piano Academy in Hong Kong
- 2021.10.17 Win the “Child Pianist Award” at a music competition at school
- 2021.11.12 Take part in the Second Pacific Rim International Music Festival and win the Special Prize and the Second Prize (Children’s Category)
- 2021.12.26 Perform at their own duo concert at the Pallas Piano Academy
