He spent a year playing random recitals and struggling to find work, as many musicians do.

Then, a year after seeing Chang perform, a record label representative called to tell Chang he had recommended him for an audition.

Without knowing for whom he was playing, Chang arranged for an audition time.

"It was ridiculous, very unprofessional," Chang said, laughing.

The woman who organized the audition liked him instantly.

"The second I walked in the door, she said 'I want him,' " Chang recalled.

"I always joke that I got this job because I had a nice shirt on that day."

Soon, Chang had fulfilled his dream of traveling throughout the world, playing the piano for jazz singer Michael Bublé, a rising Canadian performer known for crooning covers of classics such as "Fever" and "The Way You Look Tonight."

Three years later, Chang, 26, is the musical director for the band, a job that he describes as being Bublé's "right-hand man." Aside from playing the piano for all of Bublé's songs, Chang manages rehearsals to make sure the band plays the way Bublé would like it to, handles the hiring and firing in the band and does everything necessary to make sure the shows run smoothly.

Bublé's latest album, "It's Time," has been nominated for a Grammy. The single from the album "Home," which Chang helped write, soared to the top of the adult contemporary charts in the United States and Canada.

Last year, the band traveled for 42 weeks and played on four different continents. The band made two trips to Australia and spent about four months, on and off, in Europe.

While touring can be fun and exciting, Chang admits it can be grueling.

"It's more than I can ever hope for in every way, but it definitely means giving up a lot of your life," Chang said.

When Chang does get some time at home in Los Angeles, he catches up with the musicians in his other band, The Cosmic Giggle, which includes two other Pioneer graduates.

Chang met band members Tom Jackson and Greg McFall when he was in eighth grade at Castillero Middle School. Chang was playing the piano for the spring musical, and Jackson and McFall were performing in the show. The three became friends and soon began writing and playing songs together and practicing at Chang's house.

Chang's mom, Doreene, remembers these days well and loves the music they play.

"I listen to [Bublé] of course, but my favorite music is the music [Chang] writes," Doreene Chang said. "I guess I'm partial to The Cosmic Giggle and his personal music that he's written, but it doesn't surprise me that he does this. He just had the talent and the opportunity, and off he went."

She has been Chang's biggest fan since he started playing the piano when he was 6 years old.

"I wanted Christmas music, but I ended up getting a whole lot more," Doreene Chang said. She wanted her sons [Alan and his brother Devin] to learn to play the piano so they could grow up feeling confident. "I was one of those moms who wanted them to be confident and hold a conversation."

Little did she know that Chang initially wasn't crazy about playing music.

"My parents totally made me do it; I cried the first day," Chang said.

He thanks them for the lessons now.

Chang's piano teacher, Ann Steh, has long been a fan. She said Chang showed great potential as a youngster but really blossomed in junior high.

She remembers when he performed in Castillero's annual show at the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Jose and was spotlighted as he performed George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

In eighth grade, he began playing the accompaniment for Pioneer's spring musical and then joined the jazz band when he started at Pioneer.

After his years at Pioneer, Chang was sad to hear about the fire in 2003 that destroyed the old PAC.

"I spent a lot of time in the old PAC. I remember the first thing I thought about was the piano I helped pick out," Chang said. "I felt like it was mine when I was there; I was the only one with a key to the lock aside from the music director."

Chang didn't see the piano when he and the Cosmic Giggle guys performed at the new PAC opening last month.

Chang's family typically waits until he's in California to go to a show, but they made the trip across the Pacific to see him play at the Sydney Opera House last year.

Most of the audiences he plays for are Bublé fans through and through, but every now and then, Chang will hear from a fan of his own.

During each show Bublé takes a few minutes to introduce Chang, and at this point during their last show of 2005 in England, a fan walked up to the stage and held something up to the musicians.

Thinking it was another one of Bublé's fans, Chang said to her in a charming voice, "I'm sorry ma'am, but this is my time." Bublé laughed and reached down to take what she brought, and Chang was shocked to see that it was a black-and-white drawing of him.

"It was really, really nice and she did a great job, and I felt like such a jerk," Chang said. "I thought I was going to be funny and make fun of one of Michael's fans, but it was actually something for me."

Chang said he saw her after the show and apologized.

Even after three years as a touring musician, Chang still enjoys playing and writing songs with Bublé.

"I couldn't really imagine going from Michael to anybody else," Chang said. "He's been really good to me over the years. He was just starting out, and I was there with him. It's good to be there for the whole thing. It makes me feel more of a part of it."