Watch 16-year-old Russian musician Alexey Romanov play a stirring rendition of River Flows in You by Lee Ru-ma. The adopted teen suffered a debilitating illness that has deprived him of his fingers since birth and only took up music two years ago.

According to The Guardian, Romanov’s adoptive parents, Vladimir and Luisa Levachkovye, noticed his predisposition for art and bought him a synthesizer. He has since won a number of competitions and was invited to join a music school in the Russian city of Kazan.