Is it impossible to become a concert pianist if you are not a protégé?

[Faith]

Hello.  I am 17 years old and am currently doing Grade 8 piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music program.  My songs include ones such as solffeggio by C.P.E Bach, Sonata in C- by Beethoven, Milonga Deangel, and others of that level.  I started taking lessons later than most people that I know but really enjoy the piano however do not feel very confident in my playing.  I am a slower player with a finger range of just an octave but am good with rhythm and emotion.  I also have a horrible habit of repeating myself and take a decade to memorize music. I was wondering if someone like me would qualify for becomming a concert pianist if I continued learning music in my future.  If so what piano programs would be necessary to become THAT good and if you have any practice tequniques that would help me, I will surely appreciate to hear them...Thank you 

[minimozart007]

One thing that would help to memorise is to play the segment you are working on slowly at least once before quitting practice.  Another suggestion of mine is to practice playing a piece "cold," or playing without warmup, at the beginning of a practice session.

[lostinidlewonder]

Small hands shouldn't ever discourage you. Break large chords apart, people will forgive you because they know it is physically impossible for you to play it, but it is a good example to set those with smaller hands.

The program that you present is something you have to be confident with, and something that you think you can present to an audience in an interesting way.

Make sure it has good logical flow to it and good musical structure, dont play pieces which have no relation to one another. Perhaps it may not have any musical relationship but the story that you may discover may reflect similar ideas or emotions of the other. That helps the flow of your concert and appreciation/understanding for what you're presenting.

You have to start peforming and setting up your own concerts. Sell tickets yourself, get your family to help you or friends. No one is going to hand you on a platter a concert peformer career. If you want to win big competitions then study the heck out of music, but that isnt really fun at all. Peform, even if you are not as good as you hope you would be, peform and get that experience. But to choose to be a musician who lives off his concert peformances, you have a very very very very very very very very very hectic life ahead of you. Most do a balance of the two, but in the end musicians must make a constant income from providing education. Life is too stressful living off concert earnings!!!! lol.