A black teenage boy, named Tyler Thompson, can not only sing Chinese opera very well, but also perform the ancient Chinese art form wonderfully, according to AP's report.

Tyler Thompson rehearses with the Great Wall Youth Orchestra in Oakland, Calif. The 15-year-old Oakland native sings traditional Chinese opera in Mandarin.

The 15-year-old Tyler is a top student in Chew's Oakland-based Purple Silk Music Education program, which teaches students who are mostly from low-income immigrant families to sing and play traditional Chinese music. Chew is the music teacher of Tyler.

Chew said: "As soon as he opens his mouth and sings in Chinese, the Chinese are very surprised and then feel very proud of him."

Tyler once performed as Justice Bao, a famous Song Dynasty Judge with a strong sense of fairness at the World Children's Festival in Washington in June, receiving a standing ovation.

He played his first solo at the age of 18 and thereafter, performed at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall and Herbst Theater. Moreover, he sang for then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi at the U.S. State Department.

Tyler is now more interested in learning traditional Chinese music and takes it more seriously. "I've been sticking to this to see where else it will take me," he said.

(Agencies July 28, 2011)