A BUDDING young musician in Fareham is days away from taking part in one of the most prestigious performing arts event’s in the country.

Nine-year-old Lewis Heaysman was chosen to take part in Raising the Bar- the National Deaf Children’s Society’s flagship event in Birmingham after wowing judges with his impressive piano skills in his audition clip.

Lewis has a moderate to severe hearing impairment and cannot hear anything without his hearing aid however, that has not stopped him from catching the eye of Artistic Director of Music and the Deaf, Danny Lane who said Lewis played "beautifully" in his audition video.

On May 12-13 Lewis will take part in a series of workshops where he will hone his skills and develop his talent with the help of experts from the music industry. The weekend will culminate in a live showcase in front of his proud family who will be cheering on the talented youngster.

The promising young pianist was first introduced with the musical instrument three years ago, when he had his first play on his cousins keyboard .

After taking an instant liking to it Lewis asked his parents if he could do piano lessons and he has been taking lessons from piano teacher, Dan Lines ever since.

His younger sister, Charlotte was inspired by Lewis and decided she also wanted to give it a try but found playing was much harder for her than it was for Lewis. His mum, Emma says Lewis “has a natural talent for it”.

It was Rugby legend, Ben Cohen's- who is profoundly deaf- words of motivation see (http://www.ndcs.org.uk/news/ndcs_news/rugby_world_cup.html), that inspired rugby fanatic Lewis to enter the competition with his sterling rendition of ‘my heart will go on’ by Celine Dion.

Ben Cohen said: “I have been consistently proud and amazed at the quality of the performance and skill demonstrated by deaf young people who have attended Raising the Bar since 2015.

“Raising the Bar in Birmingham will give deaf children the chance to get together, learn new skills with some incredible professionals, and ultimately demonstrate the level of talent there is among deaf children and young people.

“It’s brilliant to support such an amazing event and I hope many more deaf children and young people enter Raising the Bar next year.”

Bryony Parkes, youth development officer and organiser of Raising the Bar, said: “Deaf children can do anything hearing children can do, if given the right support from the start.

“Raising the Bar is a testament to the talent of deaf children and young people. Lewis has shown with his musical ability that he has the potential to achieve greatness in performing arts.”

Watch Lewis' audition by using the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKraph6wezY&feature=share