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Mom from Dominican Republic seeks new opportunities for 5-year-old piano prodigy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A young Indianapolis boy is making a name for himself in music.

Elian Cuevas is just 5 years old, but he’s already being called a prodigy by his piano teacher.

Elian loves to play the piano. He says during the day he plays the piano and at night he has to sleep. Elian plays music from Mozart and Beethoven, but that’s not all he can do.

His teacher Linda Gomes will show him a new song and after listening to it only once he’ll play it.

“The group that I had been working with sang a song and then he just jumped right on the piano and played the song. I don’t know if he had ever heard it before,” Gomes said.

His mom Ana Cuevas says he started playing the piano when he was 1 year old. Music runs through Elian’s blood. Cuevas sings and Elian’s dad loves music. Elian says he just wants to worship God.

Elian says when he sleeps he can feel the rhythm of his heart and stomach. He says he plays music almost all day.

“He wants to go to sleep after the piano. He wants to eat around the piano. He wants to do his homework with the piano,” Cuevas said.

Elian was born in New York. His family moved there from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life. Now they live in Indianapolis where Elian met his music teacher.

Gomes says she wants him to find new opportunities to grow.

“I would honestly like to see Elian at a music school. I had reached out to Butler and IU right now and I’m hoping to hear back from them,” she said.