Child piano prodigy Daniel Clarke Bouchard grows up

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Daniel ClarkeBouchard, the child piano prodigy who became a celebrity in Quebec after appearing onThe EllenDeGeneresShowin 2014, is now a young man preparing to study music full-timeatthe prestigiousJuilliardSchool in New York.

"Someone saw the video of me on Ellen recently, someone of my own age, and he told me, 'Oh you looked so cute.' I was like, 'Where are you going with this?'"

"I mean the words, they were in past tense,"Bouchardsaid with a laugh, in an interview forCBC Montreal's newpodcast,Montreapolis.

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Bouchardtoday is different from the boy who famously mugged for the camera onEllen. He's kept the bow tie, but he's taller, his voice has dropped, and there's just a slight fuzz of moustacheabove his upper lip.

Bouchardstill has plenty of confidence, but it's a quieter, more dignified confidence. The cute kid is morphing into a man.

Piano is everything

Bouchardis still in high school in Montreal, but he's already attendingJuilliardpart-time. He heads to New York City every Saturday for lessons, master classesand performances.

"It's just like an extra day of school. But that's the only day where I'm not complaining about going to school,"Bouchardsaid.

Bouchardcan't wait to study music full-time. He said if it wasn't for getting cramps in his hands, he'd be at the piano 24 hours a day.

"I was in math class the other day, and I started to think of music, and I'm just playing with my handson my lap and I'm like,'Wouldn't it be great if I could just leave any time I want? During class and just leave and go play?'"Bouchardsaid.

RAW: One-on-one with Daniel Clarke Bouchard

10 years ago

Duration 0:38

Piano prodigy Daniel Clarke Bouchard says he "gels" with the piano.

OK, not quite everything

The piano is clearly the centre ofBouchard'slife. But now that he's a teenager, he also thinks about what many teenage boys think about: the opposite sex.

Last summer, while he was in Rio as part of cultural activities around the Olympic games,Bouchardwasn't shy about tweeting his fondness for U.S. Olympic gymnastSimoneBiles.

"That was a huge crush. It was my big crush, and it still is actually,"Bouchardsaid.

"She's great."

Unfortunately,Bouchardnever got to meetBiles.

RAW VIDEO: Piano prodigy Daniel Clarke Bouchard

10 years ago

Duration 1:01

Montrealer Daniel Clarke Bouchard appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week.

In fact, despite a life that's full of travel and adventure,Bouchardhas not yet found romance.

He said being a piano virtuoso doesn't necessarily translate into attracting girls.

"I think piano is one of those instruments that it's not like if you were a guitarist or a drummer. That's like, you know bad boys. Even a nerdy guy playing the guitar will get girls,"Bouchardsaid.

"I feel like girls my own age are kind of immature. in a way. I'm not trying to accuse the gender; they just don't understand what is going through my head and what music means to me," he said.

Piano scared him, at 4

Bouchardsaid his main goal atJuilliardwill be to expand his repertoire.

His proficiency at the piano allows him to dream big: he wants to settle in New York and perform around the world. He'd like to collaborate one day with Wynton Marsalis or Stevie Wonder.

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But it wasn't love at first sight when his motherbrought a piano into their house whenBouchardwas four.

"I was so intimidated by the piano because it was so big, and I was so little,"Bouchardrecalled."I was scared because it was so massive, and I felt like it would justswallow me."

"But one day, my mom put me on the piano and she said, 'Stop ignoring it. Just put all your feelings into it. See what happens,'" he continued.

"It was great. Just the first few notes, and then it built into something great. And ever since, I've grown into a pianist."

You can hear a full feature interview with Daniel Clarke Bouchardon CBC'snewMontreapolispodcast, bringingyou conversations with people who make upmodern Montreal.Click here to subscribe.