Cover Story
October 10, 2003 Vol. 9 No. 5
Artsy All-Stars

Kids with special talents get a lot of attention, especially athletes. But many young stars are great at art and music too! And many of the most creative kids are known only to their friends, family and the lucky few who get to see them in action.

Just like Mozart, who was a 5 year-old musical genius, children barely old enough to read have for centuries used their imaginations to do amazing things. Here are a few that we found, whose musical abilities are outstanding for their age.

Annabelle Taubl, Harp
Annabelle Taubl, 16, studies harp at the Juilliard School's Pre-College division. She and her six brothers and sisters live in Connecticut, and they all play different instruments. Her parents also are musicians, and sometimes the whole family plays concerts together. She now takes private lessons with Nancy Allen, the principal harpist for the New York Philharmonic orchestra.

David Guerrier, Trumpet
When David Guerrier, 19, started playing trumpet as a kid, the French teenager says that it was hard at first to make a good sound. But within a few years, David was showing an amazing talent for his instrument. He won competitions all over the world.

The beautiful sounds made on David's trumpet gave him opportunities to play in youth orchestras with some of Europe's best young musicians. David says his secret to success is hard work. He quotes a famous saying from Jacques Brel: "Desire is the only talent, everything else is sweat." That means that even if you are talented, you have to practice a lot and work hard to achieve your goals.

Dan-Bi Um, Violin
Dan-Bi Um, 13, has been playing the violin since she was 2 1/2 years old. While growing up in Seoul, South Korea, Dan-Bi showed such talent that she was asked to play for the government and on television when she was just 8. She now studies in Philadelphia at the Curtis Institue of Music, one of the best conservatories of music in the United States.


By Jeremy Caplan