Tristan Allen was minding his business when a chance encounter with a stranger drastically altered his career path. On the last day of a five-week summer program at Berklee College of Music in late August, the 17-year-old pianist — prodigy is a better word — was now saying his goodbyes. In the middle of hugging two of his new friends, a woman walked by and stopped to snap a photo on her camera phone.

Read more about Tristan Allen on Last.fm.