Sixteen-year-old Neal Andrews of Gibsons has once again triumphed in music competition, this time on the piano during the Vancouver Kiwanis Festival last month. Andrews also excels on other instruments: the violin and trumpet. "He does equally well on all three," says mother Terry who is concerned that he will soon have to pick which of the three is his prime instrument.Andrews was born with talent, she says. "His father and I are not musicians," she said adding that any time children are doing well at music the parents are supportive, whether musical or not.In 2003, Andrews was awarded a trophy and became a scholarship recipient for the Grade 10 highest average mark at provincial competition. He was also voted one of the Galaxie (CBC) Rising Stars for his talent with the trumpet. Although this recent win allows him to go forward to the B.C. Provincials this June on the piano, Andrews was already slated to enter the tough competition on the basis of his exceptional performance in the local Festival of the Performing Arts last March. At that competition, he had already been chosen for entry in the intermediate strings category during the Provincials, and, according to the rules, he could not accept the subsequent piano nomination.Andrews is home schooled and is brother to another emerging pianist, Mark Andrews, who is now in his third year of piano performance studies at the University of Toronto.
