He was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, but has been living in New York for a couple of years now. Excellent technique and hypnotic stage presence, Mika McLaurin28 years old, has been playing the piano since the age of 8. He took part in the first edition of the International Antonio Mormone Prize and will perform at the Verdi Hall of the Milan Conservatory for the Fondazione la Società dei Concerti on 31 May. : plays by Franz Liszt interspersed with tunes by Lady Gaga. off stagean angelic face cannot hide its shyness, but put it in front of a piano and the delicate features become a raging sea.

How did it start?

Grandmother bought a new piano and gave the old one to us; we are seven brothers, my mother did not want us to play at random, so she bought a book, Learn to play on the floor, and tried to teach us the basics. At first I was very bored, I could not sit still. When she stopped giving me lessons, I went alone and started writing songs. I was very intuitive, so he referred me to a teacher who, after the first duet with me, called my mother: “Your son is talented.” Since then, when I was not in school, I was engaged in music, I did not want to do anything else. It’s like being possessed.

How does he feel when he calls?

I feel music on an almost spiritual level, it touches me, it’s my way of conveying what’s in my heart. This is my consolation, it helped me in difficult moments of my life, I am very shy, I have never had so many friends, music was my salvation. I have never been able to put into words what I can say with the piano: it allows me to connect with others.

She was called the new Liberace, the first pianist to mix the “high” register with pop music.

It does me credit: Liberace was a genius, a legend… It was a natural evolution for me: during the pandemic, I started to remake the songs that I love, Lady Gaga is my hero. In Milan, I alternated it with Franz Liszt, who in the 19th century took the popular melodies of the time and transcribed them on the piano. Although I like Chopin the most – he will not be an intellectual challenge, but he is so direct. Nobody touches me the way he does.

Have you ever met Lady Gaga?

Not yet. When that happens, I will tell her that the messages of her songs and her music have given me butterflies, consoled and helped me.

On stage, she wears very scenic costumes: long red capes, feathers, sequins. It’s impossible not to think about Elton John.

He is a great pianist and has a unique style. I create my costumes in collaboration with Zaldy, a very good New York designer.

Do you have a ritual before going on stage?

In the previous hours, I try to stay in my world. I have to give more gigs, it’s almost a supernatural dimension, I have to access that part of me, deep inside, that I don’t visit every day. I need to pack up and arm myself. And then I eat a banana because I was told that it calms the nerves,” he laughs. “It will be a placebo effect, but it works.