Hunter Wilson/Daily News Julian Georg, an exchange student from Germany, won second place in the state talent show recently with his piano playing. He practices on the piano at the home of his host family, Paul and Sarah Budde.

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Warren East High School junior Julian Georg recently proved he has talent.

The 15-year-old foreign exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, won second place in the state talent show at the Future Educators Association conference in November for an assorted piece on the piano.

“I received a trophy,” he said. “There were a lot of people there, and I was the only piano soloist there. I was happy to get second. I wish it would have been first, but I was satisfied with myself.”

First place went to a band - the only band there, Julian said.

For his part, the pianist said he hadn’t planned to play. In fact, he only found out about the talent show when he arrived at the conference.

“I didn’t know what to play until five minutes before the show, but it was an interesting piece,” Julian said. “I played Chopin, improvised with a little bit of ‘Hit the Road, Jack,’ and ended with a piece a friend composed for me.”

Julian has studied piano since he was 6 years old.

“My mom plays piano. She’s from Poland, and when she moved to Germany, she bought her piano with her,” he said. “The piano has been in the house since I was born, and I used to listen to her play.”

Julian has played the cello for six years as well.

“My mom likes the cello more than the piano,” he said. “With the cello I can play with other people in an orchestra. It’s a totally different instrument, a nice contrast to the piano. And I would play with my mom - she on the piano and me on the cello.”

At 3 or 4 years old, Julian said, he sat down at the piano and began playing it, and at 6, his mom signed him up for lessons.

“I really liked it,” he said. “My piano teacher said I had talent. He wasn’t strict, he was very easygoing.”

Following in his mother’s footsteps, he continued playing, and through lessons has become a distinguished player.

His host family’s house, Julian said, has a good piano - better than the one at home in Hamburg - where he sometimes practices for up to three hours.

“My piano teacher was upset with me when I told him I was coming here; he felt I was going to ruin my career, since I had just started doing concerts in Germany,” he said. “I told him about what’s happening here and he said, ‘I was wrong.’ ”

That’s because, since Thanksgiving, Julian has been taking his lessons at Western Kentucky University - under renowned pianist Sylvia Kershenbaum.

“I knew her before I came here,” he said. “She is very well known.”

After winning second place in the state talent show, Julian learned he could receive a full scholarship to WKU in piano.

“I will began to prepare for auditions in February or March, and she said I have very good chance of receiving a full scholarship,” he said. “It’s a nice campus. I’d love to go there.”

Although Julian already has pre-college classes under his belt in Germany, which would make it easy to get a scholarship there, he said he’s finding his niche in Bowling Green.

“I have friends here, I like it here,” he said. “To get a scholarship from WKU would be great. People are more open here. It’s different in Germany, (where) it’s more strict.”

Julian is scheduled to go back to Hamburg in the summer, after the school year is over. But his return to Germany now depends on the scholarship opportunity from WKU.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, and Western has a really good music department ... that is my impression,” he said. “I might finish high school (in Germany) and come back, I’m not sure yet.”

But Julian is sure that he likes Bowling Green.

“Hamburg is a city with 2 million people,” he said. “But the people here are more friendly ... when a car comes here or in a store, people wave. I like the atmosphere here.

“I’ve been very welcomed here.”