Chooka Parker

Ethan "Chooka" James Parker is a contestant on the 2011 season of Australia's Got Talent. The 17-year-old self-taught musician from Red Lion, near Maryborough, , is the youngest son of Alan and Kerry Parker, who have an older son Adam. Chooka attracted worldwide attention following his audition for the television talent contest after he showcased his unique freestyle piano playing talent.
Ethan received the nickname "Chooka" at age 11 because he had expressed a desire to become a chicken farmer and has since had his name legally changed to Chooka by deed poll.
Early life
Chooka grew up in a farming family without a television, the internet or a CD player. Chooka's father taught Adam and Chooka to play the drums on an empty can, drumming with their hands.
Chooka received a Mozart CD after helping clear out a house. However, it was another two years before Chooka's family purchased a CD player and Chooka was able to listen to the music on the CD. Chooka and his brother Adam saved their money and bought a Casio keyboard and Chooka spent many evenings teaching himself to play the keyboard and how to read music.
Talent Contest
At 16, Chooka entered the Australia's Got Talent television contest after a school friend encouraged him. His audition in front of a large audience and television cameras was Chooka's first time playing the keyboard on stage. Chooka composed as he played and the audience gave him a standing ovation at the end of the performance. The show's three judges also gave him high praise, with one describing him as a "prodigy". Chooka was passed along on to the next round of competition. The television clip of Chooka's performance has received over 1,000,000 page views.
Musical Style
Evident from both his audition and semi-finals performances on Australia's Got Talent, Chooka prefers to improvise in the A minor tonality at a fortissimo dynamic level, focusing almost entirely on the white keys.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu