By the end, I could barely control my emotions,” says Thomas Yu describing his first-prize-winning performance at the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 25.

It wasn’t easy for Thomas Yu to become CBC Music’s 2015 Piano Hero.

For one thing, in order to advance to the finals earlier this year, the Calgary pianist — who spends his days practising dentistry — had to land enough online support from listeners to make it into the top ten.

An interview with Thomas Yu in advance of his performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21.

By day, Yu specializes in gum surgery and dental implants. Off the clock, his hands are busy with the work of bringing emotional concertos to life on the piano keys – living proof that building a career in one field doesn’t have to mean giving up your passion in another.

Presented by Pianist Magazine, Yamaha, and Chetham’s School of Music.

On Wednesday 22 August, Saskatoon’s Thomas Yu, a periodontist currently residing in Calgary, ties for First Place with pianist Robert Finlay, a retired electrical engineer from Boston, in the 2012 International Amateur Piano Competition, presented jointly by U.K.’s Pianist Magazine, Yamaha, and Chethams’s School of Music.