After Patrick Pan graduates from Clear Lake High School next spring, one college won't be enough for him. If his hopes come true, he'll study science at Harvard University or Columbia University and music at a nearby conservatory - either New England Conservatory, which has a joint program with Harvard, or New York's Juilliard School, which is connected with Columbia.

The 15-year-old's musical side takes center stage Sunday, when he plays two piano pieces on "From the Top," the public-radio program spotlighting young talent. Classical 91.7 will broadcast the show at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Pan soloed with the Houston Symphony in July, but he's also a violinist, playing in Clear Lake's orchestra.

He spoke with the Chronicle about music, science and his full schedule.

Q: How do you hope to fit both music and science into college?

A: On the science side, my main interest is in neuroscience and neurobiology. I'm fascinated by the human brain - everything about it. On the music side, it would be piano performance.

Q: What got you into music?

A: We've always had a piano at home. When I was a kid, I would just bang on the keys randomly. My parents say that when I was about 2, I began to be able to pick out melodies I had heard. So they had me start taking piano lessons at age 3. I wanted to start the violin at 3, too, but my piano teacher discouraged me from it. So I got the rudiments of the piano down a little more, then started the violin at 7.

More Information

'From the Top'

When: 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: KUHA Classical 91.7

Listen online:

Q: Do the two instruments have different attractions?

A: There are orchestral pieces that have close to 100 people playing, yet you can transcribe it for one piano. One guy sitting at the piano can play the same music, and it's just as impressive. For the violin, the string instruments are the closest to the human voice in terms of the sound quality and tone, which I really like.

Q: How do you find time to practice and study?

A: I almost always wake up at 5:30 a.m., so I have time to be awake when school starts. I go to school at 7:20. School ends at 2:30 p.m., but four days out of five, I have after-school activities. I have orchestra, and I'm the president of the Science National Honor Society, and I have other extracurriculars. I guess, the average day, I get home about 3:30 or 3:45. I nap for a little bit, then eat dinner and have time with my family. About 7, I start doing homework and practicing. That extends to maybe 1:30 in the morning.

Q: 1:30? Does that give you enough rest?

A: Some people function well with less sleep. I guess I'm fortunate to be that way.

Q: What would be your ideal way for your career to work out?

A: That's really difficult for me to decide. At the moment, what would be great would be if i could do (brain) research maybe four days a week, and the fifth, I could do music and have fun. Or if I could take some time off (from research work) in the next decade or so just to do concerts and piano competitions, and then decide from there.

Q: Do you enjoy playing in public?

A: It's a really great experience for me because you get to connect with everybody in the audience. The audience gets me excited, so I perform better.