LYNN — 11-year-old Dylan Sedille, of Lynn, first sat down at his piano bench when he was only 5 years old. On Saturday, he placed first in the Elite International Music Competition following his performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
In November, the Shoemaker Elementary School fifth grader placed fourth in the 2022 Charleston International Music Competition. Later on, Dylan placed third, then first while competing against musicians ranging from 6 to 22 years old from around the world in two Elite International Music Competition recitals. His first-place performance landed him a gig at Carnegie Hall.
Although Dylan’s parents, Carolyn and Douglas Sedille, had a piano in their West Lynn home, neither would call themselves pianists. Douglas said he could only play a few melodies, while Carolyn said she never “had a go” at the family piano.
Six years ago, when Dylan sat down to play for the first time, they were taken aback by their son’s level of immediate talent.
“One day he did go on it and I could not believe what I heard,” Carolyn said. “I thought it was the radio.”
Douglas said when he noticed Dylan’s ability, he tried to teach him some basic piano licks. However, Dylan surpassed his skill level “in one minute.” He and Carolyn signed Dylan up for piano lessons with his first teacher, Kelly Jenkins, who ran hybrid lessons on the North Shore.
“I brought him in for the interview just to meet her, and he played a piece. She called me after and she asked me if I knew how rare this was. I really didn’t,” Carolyn said. “She said she had to pick her jaw off the floor.”
In less than five years, Dylan mastered some of Mozart, Bach, and Frédéric Chopin’s most challenging piano pieces. He quickly matched Jenkins’ skill level, and his parents struggled to find a piano teacher that could play as well as him.
Two years ago, Dylan was granted a full scholarship to the Berklee City Music Preparatory Academy in Boston. He returned there again this year to learn jazz piano and musical improvisation as a student of professor Hey Rim Jeon.
Dylan currently studies under world-renowned classical pianist and MIT professor Mi-Eun Kim. She drove to New York to hear Dylan perform Chopin’s Fantaisie–Impromptu, a piece that took the prodigy five months to master, at Carnegie Hall Saturday night.
“Dylan played wonderfully,” Kim wrote in a text message. “He sure does have a great stage presence and an unflappability in his focus. [It’s] truly impressive playing.”
On Thursday, Dylan said he was not nervous to play for thousands at Carnegie Hall. He said he practices for 45 minutes to an hour each day, and listens to classical music during his free time at school and while he does his homework.
Dylan’s twin brother, Ben, said his brother made a name for himself at Shoemaker when he played Mozart at the first grade talent show.
“My brother’s very talented and smart,” Ben said. “He’s one of the best students in our school right now.”
Dylan said he frequently gets bored and started playing piano as a way to keep himself entertained. He said he enjoys the process of trying to master a new piece of music.
“I definitely want to learn more Chopin pieces, I’m really into Chopin,” Dylan said. “I want to be a professional pianist when I’m older. I just want to travel anywhere that I can play music.”
