10 Year-old Magnus LaDue is a true genius who enjoys learning both advanced mathematics and advanced music.

On May 7, 2008 Magnus (then only 8 years old) took the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Exam offered by the College Entrance Examination Board. He is the youngest student ever to have taken an Advanced Placement Exam, since these exams normally are taken by the nation's brightest high school juniors and seniors.

On July 14, 2008 we learned that he made the highest possible score of 5, a brilliant and stunning intellectual achievement for an 8 year-old. This means that he is "Extremely Well Qualified" in Calculus, and almost every college in the United States will award him two semesters of credit for it. You can see it for yourself in his student grade report.

Magnus played the piano, and Megan Henderson and Tim Ryan announced his score, on the KDFW FOX 4 Good Day program on July 21. He was also featured by four-time Emmy award winner Tracy Kornet on the KTXA 21 News, First in Prime program on July 24.

As an 8 year-old home-schooled third grader, Magnus completed three semesters of Calculus. As a 9 year-old fourth grader he completed Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. In his first semester of fifth grade Magnus completed Complex Analysis and Mathematical Reasoning, and in his second semester of fifth grade he is studying Real Analysis, Number Theory, Algorithms, and Java Programming. Magnus is an experienced user of the Mathematica scientific computing environment. He also enjoys solving many types of puzzles, and he is an expert at solving Rubik's Cubes up to size 7x7x7.

In February of 2010 Magnus will be taking the AMC 12 exam. His goal is to gain the knowledge and experience necessary to advance year by year through the AIME, the USAMO, the MOSP, and finally to the IMO.

Here is some of Magnus' most recent work in Mathematics:

• When Magnus was 9 years old, he discovered two errors in the CRC Standard Mathematical Tables and Formulae. The first error was in one of the handbook's Laplace transforms. The incorrect result appears in formula 36 on p. 607. Here are the two corrections that Magnus proposed to the editor. The second error that Magnus discovered is in one of the handbook's Fourier series. The incorrect result appears in formula 1.4.4(k) on p. 52, and Magnus submitted a correction to the editor. Both errors seem to have been previously undiscovered, and the editor has acknowledged them.
• Magnus' AP Calculus BC Exam student grade report
• An interesting integral that Magnus did when he was 8
• An exact algebraic formula for sin(1°) that Magnus found when he was 7

By the end of 2010 Magnus will be ready to begin his Intel Science Talent Search project. His research project will most likely involve Algorithms, a subject in which he shows exceptional interest and creativity.

Magnus has studied music theory at the college level for over 4 years. He has completed the texts Tonal Harmony, Counterpoint, Harmony and Voice Leading, and Foundations of Diatonic Theory. He is currently finishing Introduction to Post-tonal Theory and Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach.

Here is some of 10 year-old Magnus' most recent work in Music Theory:

• A Java program, FindAIToneRows.java, to find and print every all-interval tone row beginning with pitch class 0
• The 3856 all-interval tone rows beginning with pitch class 0 and their corresponding intervals generated by FindAIToneRows.java
• A proof that every all-interval tone row beginning with pitch class 0 must end with pitch class 6
• A faster Java program, FastFindAIToneRows.java, to find and print every all-interval tone row beginning with pitch class 0
• The 3856 all-interval tone rows beginning with pitch class 0 and their corresponding intervals generated by FastFindAIToneRows.java

Magnus began his musical studies at the age of 5 with Robert Carney, who quickly recognized him as a musical genius. Under Robert's guidance 5 year-old Magnus completed all 12 grades of the Theory Time music theory workbook series in less than 10 months, and Robert discovered that Magnus possesses an astoundingly well-developed sense of perfect pitch. After studying with Robert for just under a year, Magnus studied for almost three years with John Owings, Herndon Professor of Music and Division Chair of Piano Studies in the School of Music at Texas Christian University, who greatly helped him to develop his musical abilities. He then studied for six months with Dr. Carol Leone, Chair of the Keyboard Department in the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, and he participated in the Advanced Class in the SMU Piano Preparatory Department. Magnus is currently continuing his musical studies under the direction of Dr. Robert Carney.

Magnus has performed many free recitals at retirement homes and community centers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since he was 6 years old.

On October 27, 2007 Magnus won 1st place in Division II (Grades 3 and 4) at the University of Texas at Arlington's the 29th Annual Fall Piano Contest. He played Kabalevsky's Variations in A Minor (Op. 40, No. 2).

On October 25, 2008 Magnus shared 1st place in Division II (Grades 3 and 4) at the University of Texas at Arlington's the 30th Annual Fall Piano Contest. He played Brahms' Capriccio in F# Minor (Op. 76, No. 1).

On April 7, 2009 Magnus won a Gold Medal in the 2009 AADGT International Young Musician Competition. He played Chopin's Etude in G# Minor (Op. 25, No. 6) at a recital in Merkin Concert Hall in New York City on May 24, 2009.

Here are some of his recent performances that you'll enjoy:

• Magnus performing La Leggierezza by Franz Liszt at Steinway Hall in Fort Worth, Texas
• Magnus performing Prelude in A Minor by Alexander Scriabin on the KDFW FOX 4 Good Day program
• Magnus performing Preludes by Scriabin and Chopin on the KTXA 21 News, First in Prime program
• Magnus performing Kreisleriana Op. 16, No. 1 by Robert Schumann
• Magnus performing Etude in G# Minor (Op. 25, No. 6) by Frederic Chopin at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City

You can see all of Magnus' performances on his MusicDoLove YouTube Channel.

Here are some news items about Magnus:

• A feature about Magnus on the KTXA 21 News, First in Prime program (July 24, 2008)
• A feature about Magnus on the KDFW FOX 4 Good Day program (July 21, 2008)
• An article about Magnus in the Southlake Times (March 3, 2007)

And if you snoop around a bit, you might even find an old article in the New York Times about his Daddy.

Magnus spends a great deal of time playing sports - bicycling, swimming, and basketball. (Compare 2 hours for Mathematics and 3 hours for Music to 2 and 1/2 hours for sports each weekday.) The fresh air, sunshine, and exercise that he gets outdoors each day make him strong and healthy, and so he has lots of energy for advanced Mathematics and Music.

Magnus enjoys bicycling 50 to 60 miles each week on trails in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. Here are some of Magnus' favorite bike trails in the DFW area:

• The Big Bear Creek Trail in Grapevine, Texas
• The C. Shane Wilbanks Trail in Grapevine, Texas
• The Big Bear Creek Greenbelt Trail in Keller, Texas
• The Trinity Trail in Fort Worth, Texas
• The White Rock Creek Trail in Dallas, Texas
• The White Rock Lake Trail in Dallas, Texas

He also enjoys swimming, basketball, electronics, science and history books, as well as playing with his three cats, Gigi, Mimi, and Garfield.