Raleigh virtuoso, 11, returning to Carnegie Hall

Nicholas Allgeier is playing piano Sunday at New York City's Carnegie Hall, which is impressive for anybody. It's especially impressive for Nicholas because he's just 11 years old - and this won't be his first time there.

The young man from North Raleigh will play at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall for winning his age group in a contest, the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition. Last year, when he was 10, he played there after winning the American Protégé International Piano Competition.

"It was a great experience," Nicholas says of playing Carnegie last year. "The place is very nice - the chandeliers, the decor. I'm excited to be there again."

Nicholas has been playing piano for more than half his life, after persuading his mother to teach him the instrument when he was 4. By age 6, he was performing in public 10 to 20 times a year. And now he's winning contests.

"He says he wants to be a professional pianist and teacher," says Ami Allgeier, his mother. "But he's 11, so I don't know. Tomorrow he might say he wants to be a cowboy, and that's fine with me. It's something he enjoys now, so I'm going with the flow."