By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

It was one of those magic moments that Hollywood often tries to create (but usually has to fake).

The little boy watched intently as the man played a jazz riff on the piano. The kid walked up to the piano, drawn in by the music. The man looked over and asked the kind of question that adults ask kids just to make conversation. "Do you play?"

Does he ever.

The kid put his hands on the keys and instead of "Chopsticks" or "Do, re, mi" or worse, out poured an intricate Haydn concerto. Every head in the room turned, every jaw dropped.

That's the kind of reaction 8-year-old TJ Tario gets when he plays. People stop what they're doing to listen and watch. His fingers fly over the keys like he's been doing it for decades, and he smiles and laughs and carries on conversation while he plays almost like a veteran lounge musician chatting with the regulars. You can't take your eyes off TJ as he plays because you have to keep reminding yourself over and over that yes, this kid is really only 8 years old. And even more striking than his youth is the very obvious fact that he loves playing. It's all over his beaming face.

TJ's mother, Karli, says her oldest child has loved music from the very start.

"He was about eight months old and I would put on music in my car and I'd see him going, he was in his carrier at the time, and he was rocking out at the beat. And I thought, this is too weird. Every kind of music I put on, his head would be nodding back and forth, right on the beat," she says.

"My husband and I would sing to him and, even as a baby, he would hum it back to us."

Karli and husband Ron asked TJ if he would be interested in taking piano lessons. TJ liked the idea right away. He studies with Susan Fukushima and puts in two hours of practice every day.

"You know, I don't have to fight him on it," says Karli. "It's so natural for him. I never have to say, 'get over there and play!'"

The Nu'uanu couple also have a baby girl and a 7-year-old son, TX, who is an actor/singer/dancer with a growing number of credits. They say they have no idea where this all comes from.

"Ron and I have no musical talent, I mean, yeah, we can sing in the shower. But that's about it."

Earlier this year, TJ set his sights on the Hawai'i Concerto Competition. The contest draws Hawai'i's most talented young musicians to compete for a chance to play with the Honolulu Symphony. Eight young musicians are chosen from about 60. Of the eight, four are pianists. The Tarios knew that TJ would be one of the youngest vying for the honor, and would be competing with kids as old as 15 with twice as many years of study. Karli and Ron told TJ just to do his best, have fun and "just do his thing."

To shield TJ from some of the stress of waiting with the other competitors, the Tarios hatched a plan. A friend at Sanders Piano let TJ warm up on the store's concert grand for an hour before the competition. The Tarios timed it perfectly so they could get to the competition just five minutes before TJ was on. He played a piece he calls "my concerto," which is really Haydn's Concerto in C major.

The call came that very night. TJ had won and is the youngest musician chosen to perform with the symphony this year. He'll be showcased along with five other talented young musicians in a performance on Oct. 26 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Though the family is terribly excited, they are making sure to remind the kids that talent needs to be tempered with discipline and that who you are off stage is more important than how great you are on stage.

"I teach my kids," says Karli, "that being humble and being kind are the most important things in life."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.