Want to order a large pepperoni pizza with a side of classical music? Then Bryce Dudal is your guy.
The 18-year-old has been delivering pies for Hungry Howie’s Pizza in Michigan since October and to him, it’s the dream job.
“I absolutely love it. I think it’s the greatest job on earth,” Bryce, who lives in Sterling, Michigan, told TODAY Food. “It’s a very good job for a high schooler to have.”
Then again, Bryce also wouldn’t mind being a professional pianist. And now, thanks to a viral Facebook video of him playing during a random food delivery, he may be headed for Carnegie Hall soon.
On July 25, Julie Varchetti was out to dinner with a childhood friend. While dining, she was surprised to see that her husband, Paul, who was at home with their 10-year-old son, Ryan, and his friend, Preston, had called her several times. When Julie answered, Paul told her to check out a video he’d taken of a Howie’s delivery boy playing Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on their Weber baby grand piano.
According to Julie, her husband had ordered pizza for himself and the boys and when Bryce delivered it, he noticed the family's piano in the foyer not far from the front door. When Paul invited the young man in to check it out, no one suspected that Bryce would be such an amazing pianist. He sat down at the piano and played the song "so beautifully" that everyone in the house stopped what they were doing.
The video now has more than 665,000 views on Facebook!
“We ended up with this piano for free from friends and we don’t even play it, so it was such a big treat to have it played,” Julie told TODAY Food. “I was so excited to finally meet Bryce after watching the video probably 20 times. He is a very sweet, humble kid.”
Bryce said he began playing piano when he was about 6-years-old.
“Ya know, the funny thing is, I don’t really know what made me fall in love with it,” Bryce told TODAY. “I remember starting out playing on my Aunt Sue’s keyboard and we used to play together.”
Bryce was initially self-taught but began taking private lessons when he turned 12. By then, he says he'd already mastered complex pieces like “Moonlight Sonata."
Bryce told TODAY Food he has not yet heard from any music programs since Julie posted the video last week, although he has been approached about starting some local bands. His piano-playing talent has already won over legions of fans on social media, too.
“I would definitely pursue music and study at a university,” Dudal told TODAY Food. “I would love to be a concert pianist.”
In the fall, Dudal will begin his first year at Macomb Community College, where he is playing baseball on an athletic scholarship. Now that his other talent has gone viral, he is open to other opportunities outside of sports but told TODAY he will definitely commit to a semester “and then see what happens.”