A College Student Saved a Concert After a Pianist Couldn’t Perform

Over the weekend in Sydney, Australia, a 21-year-old college student named Sterling Nasa went to watch a live concert of the hit movie La La Land. During the show, the movie plays on a massive screen while a live orchestra performs the jazz soundtrack. But right at intermission, the orchestra’s keyboard player suddenly fell ill.

The show’s Oscar-winning conductor walked out on stage alone and literally asked the crowd, “Is there a pianist in the house who can read music really well?”

Sterling hesitated, but his buddy pushed his hand up into the air. Next thing you know, Sterling is sitting on stage at the keyboard in front of 2500 people, staring at a difficult musical score he had never seen before.

When the hardest solo came up, Sterling didn’t panic. He just improvised a jazz solo on the fly. He absolutely crushed it — and saved the entire concert from being canceled. His talent — and bravery in the moment — resulted in a massive standing ovation. And, of course, memories of an unexpected triumph that he’ll have for the rest of his life.