An aspiring concert violinist is getting a boost from two renowned musicians who read about the self-starting Bayside High School grad in the Daily News.
Yut Chia, 19, who plays on subway platforms to raise money to support his college ambitions and single mother, got a surprise visit from a local pro for an impromptu subway performance.
Damien Escobar, formerly of the multi-platinum violin duo Nuttin’ But Stringz, also promised Chia a featured spot in an upcoming music video.
As Chia was performing Pachelbel’s Canon at a midtown Manhattan station on Friday, Escobar stood in the crowd with his violin at the ready.
There was a flash of recognition on Chia’s face and the two greeted one another with high-fives. Escobar then asked Chia to join him in a rendition of Escobar’s metal-meets-fiddle composition “Thunder.”
“Can I play your part?” Chia asked him.
Feet planted, fingers attacking the violin at a break-neck pace, Chia didn’t miss a beat.
Eascobar, who grew up in Jamaica, Queens, said Chia’s story parallels his own. He played the same subway stations before his big break in 2004 when he also was profiled by The News.
“You’re looking for that one moment, that one person to change his life,” Escobar said.
He said he hopes to expose Chia to a larger audience with a first chair in the Times Square violin flash mob (dameesco.com) that Escobar is organizing with the Jamaica YMCA in August.
As Chia’s career gains momentum, he’ll have to differentiate himself from the hordes of classically educated students graduating from top schools, said Gregory Singer, 53, conductor of the Manhattan Symphonie, who saw Chia playing on 42nd St. earlier in the week and offered him violin lessons.
Singer also invited Chia to play with the symphony on July 19 near Gramercy Park.
Chia, who was born in Colombia, may get yet another bump as his story resonates beyond the city subways to places as far away as Brazil, where Pierre Rieu, the son of world-renowned conductor Andre Rieu, caught wind of the young musician’s spirit.
“I have no idea about his playing capacities, but one thing that is there is the will to achieve what’s in his heart,” said Pierre Rieu, who requested an audition video from Chia. “Sometimes people cross your path and you have to follow up.”
Chia said he will handle the opportunities given him with a simple game plan.
“Just play fast, put my heart into it, and let the violin talk to me,” Chia said.
jstepansky@nydailynews.com
