Heegan is an exceptionally gifted pianist. He was recently discovered to be a prodigious musical savant. “Prodigious savants are exceedingly rare, with fewer than 100 noted in more than a century of literature on the subjected. Fewer than 50 prodigious savants living worldwide at this present time would meet this high threshold of special skill and half of them are musical savants “ Quoted by Dr. Darold Treffert, M.D., the leading researcher of Savant Syndrome for over 40 years.
At only five years old, Heegan was able to play back any song he hears by ear. Without any piano lessons or exposure to classical music, in 2004 at the age of 14, Heegan was able to play back by ear Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, just after watching it on a DVD. He further manifested his rare ability by playing many virtuosic works of Chopin, Lizst and even Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 & 3 to name some. Concurrently, Heegan’s ability to compose music with styles and techniques of famous composers such as Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Lizst and Ravel also intrigues people around him.
In July 2005, Heegan’s extraordinary talent caught the attention of senior faculty at Manhattan School of Music and he was accepted into the precollege in September without having to go through the live audition. In barely two years, he was offered a coveted place at Manhattan School of Music for the Bachelor of Music program. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 2012. His outstanding performance abilities and academic achievements were recognised by Dr. Marc Silverman (Chair of Piano, Manhattan School of Music), and he was granted a singular honor, The President’s Award for the entire course of his Master of Music program. He is the only recipient to have attained this award without having to apply for it in the 95 year history of Manhattan School of Music. Heegan received his Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in 2014.
Heegan has participated in numerous intensive piano festivals such as the Piano Summer at New Paltz, Beijing International Music Festival & Academy in China, The International Academy of Musicm in St. Petersburg, Russia, ConcertoFest Festival in Austria, Vienna where he made his orchestral debut performing the Mozart Piano Concerto in D minor K. 466, and CME Piano Festival in New York.
He has performed extensively as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. His vast knowledge of the classical repertoire, ability to learn a new piece quickly and to play them with artistry earned him the trust of many accomplished musicians such as composers to premier their works, and singers to be their accompanist. During his 8 years in New York, he was invited to attend major music festivals where he coached extensively with world’s distinguished performers and pedagogues such as Martin Canin, Min Kwon, Vladmir Feltsman, Robert Macdonald, Pavlina Dovoska, Jerome Lowenthal, André-Michel Schub, Dr. Marc Silverman, Daniel Epstein, Jeffrey Cohen, Robert Ward, Robert Hamilton, Susan Starr, Paul Ostrosky, and Alexander Korsantia. Hailed by Mr. David Dubal, Faculty, The Juilliard School as a major musical and pianistic talent, Heegan is also frequently invited by Mr. David Dubal to perform at his Evening Session at The Juilliard School: “His performance have achieved acclaim and he is a favourite.” – David Dubal.
Dr. Min Kwon, Artistic and Executive Director of The Centre for Musical Excellence (CME) will be presenting Heegan’s Carnegie Hall debut in the Spring of 2018. Heegan has been a CME Young Artist and alumni since 2009.
Photo credit: The BeautyBox Studio
See Heegan’s recording of his live improvisation and more at his repertoire list.