Jon Nakamatsu has drive. Talent? He is considered to be among the best classical piano players on the scene today. But if his rise to prominence makes one thing clear, it is to never discount the value of being in the right place at the right time.

In the last 14 years, Nakamatsu has performed at some of the world’s most noteworthy concert halls and accompanied famous orchestras from Florence, Italy, Berlin and Tokyo. In 1998, he even performed George Gershwin’s classic “Rhapsody in Blue” at the White House at an event hosted by President Bill Clinton.

But even though he wanted to play the piano since age 4, Nakamatsu said he never imagined performing as a soloist at the Hollywood Bowl. He studied German and education at Stanford University, and to this day has never taken a music class.

“I taught high school German for six years,” he said. “I never thought music was going to pay the bills.”

Nakamatsu’s parents, surprised by their son’s interest in piano, took him to an instructor when he was just 6 years old. The teacher, Marina Derryberry, not only taught him piano, but also how to handle the other aspects of a career in music, such as business and travel.

Derryberry worked with Nakamatsu until she died in 2009.

“She was a total support for me,” Nakamatsu said. “It was like having a whole conservatory in one person.”

Nakamatsu’s shot at fame came in 1997, when he entered into the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas. It features amateur pianists from around the world, and the winner receives the opportunity to play at famous venues, along with the notoriety that comes with winning a prestigious competition.

The pianist, who knew he wanted to play music since childhood, remembers thinking this could be his last shot at piano fame.

“They do not allow people over 30, and I was 27,” he said. “So it was kind of a last chance because it takes place every four years.”

Nakamatsu remembers every stage of the competition and the challenges it presented. In the first round, contestants play for 50 minutes, followed by 75 minutes in the second round accompanied by a string quartet. In the third and final round, musicians play two pieces of their choosing with a full orchestra.

Nakamatsu thinks he clinched the entire competition in the third round. He said he believes the judges were won over by his rendition of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a piece famous for its difficulty.

Although he may owe his very career to Rachmaninov, Nakamatsu said he does not have a favorite composer. He used to write his own music, he said, but decided he was not good at it, especially when listeners are used to hearing him play Liszt and Brahms.

“I was a bad composer,” he said. “No one wants to hear what I write.”

Since winning this competition, Nakamatsu said his life has been completely different. Having still never received any formal training, he finds himself now instructing promising young musicians. As he plays on many college campuses, he will listen to piano students play and then give them pointers. He spends 75 percent of his time away from his San Jose home touring the globe.

A couple years ago, he said, he traveled to China with the Stanford University Orchestra. The college musicians initially treated him like a professor, but he said he soon had rowdy students knocking on his door at 2 a.m.

“It was two weeks of being in college again,” he said.

Nakamatsu has played at Sacramento State several times before, and he said he always enjoys coming back. His family is from Northern California, and his brother was a business major at Sac State years ago. During his concert Sunday, he said playing at Sac State is like playing in his own backyard.

Sometimes it is not enough to have the skill to do something and the heart to see it through. Sometimes things just fall into place at the last possible minute, and life changes forever.

Alex Grotewohl can be reached at [email protected]