Pianist Hoang Pham, musical success story at 27

By Jessica-Anne Lyons, Meld magazine

From Vietnam to Australia and all around the world, talented musician Hoang Pham has become an international success in his own right. Jessica-Anne Lyons has a chat with the Melbourne-based pianist about how he hit the right notes to get where he is today.

Melbourne-based Vietnamese musician had a chat with Jessica Anne-Lyons about his career.

As we continually grow, many of us feel as if we are still deciding on what we want to do with our lives but for acclaimed solo pianist Hoang Pham, there were never any questions.

Born in Vietnam to a musical family, Hoang says that from an early age there were no doubts that music was the career path for him.

“My dad happened to be a guitarist and for his generation in Vietnam growing up, you weren’t a man if you didn’t do something artistic,” Hoang says.

“The piano just came naturally to me and I had no other choice but to pursue music because no other avenue allowed me to express myself as fully.”

But even with musical notes flowing through his blood, the piano wasn’t the first instrument Hoang learned to play. When asked about how the piano came into the picture, he laughs at the memory.

“I started off playing the drums after my father gave me a rock CD as a child and I would literally belt the crap out of that kit until one day it actually exploded,” he fondly recalls.

“From there I got onto the keyboard and eventually the piano when I was about three and a half years old.”

Read the full article by Jessica-Anne Lyons from Meld magazine.