• 4 months ago
August 2023 - Water Mill, NY:

Under a sky full of stars, shining a bright glow directed towards the musical stars of tomorrow….on stage before an audience the students offered an inspirational performance for the patrons and supporters of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in the Hamptons.

Chinese born pianist Lang Lang is an international superstar, who tours the world with more than 120 performances each year and performs with the world’s top orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, which make Lang Lang one of the most desired music stars of our times.

If one word applies to Lang Lang, to the musician, to the man, to his worldview, to those who come into contact with him, it is “inspiration”. It resounds like a musical motif through his life and career. He inspires millions with his open-hearted, emotive playing, whether it be in intimate recitals or on the grandest of stages ..

Yet he never forgets what first inspired, and continues to inspire him. Great artists, above all the great composers – Liszt, Chopin and the others – whose music he now delights in bringing to others.

As a child - the joy and excitement of discovering music stays with him and propels him to what he calls “his second career”, bringing music into the lives of children around the world, both through his work for the United Nations and through his own Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

As he inspires, he is inspired. As he is inspired, he inspires others. It is this quality, perhaps, that led the New Yorker to call him “the world’s ambassador of the keyboard”.

On this glorious night, hosted by Christopher Burch, the Lang Lang Music Foundation Chairman, it was a night to meet the Young Scholars and enjoy their performances and to take in what they have learned in their young careers.

The name Lang Lang means ‘brilliance of the sky - but on this night, it was the brilliance of the keyboard on the ground that demonstrated the power of music.

#langlang #foundation #music #musiceducation #pianist #pianomusic #watermill #hamptons #pianoconcert #singing #educationmatters #musicmatters #piano #duet #liszt #chopin #chinesemusic #scholar

Category

😹
Fun
Transcript
00:00I'm going to be here for about 24 hours.
00:07I'm going to be speaking now at the studio with Dr.
00:11Susan Sanchez, who is a professor of statistics.
00:15The biggest difference between us and the New York
00:17Alumni Foundation is that our program is $32.22,
00:22one less than $150, and that's actually in just
00:2730-40 weeks of development for our kids.
00:30We are happy to take you for a tour and get you
00:33to meet all of us and talk to you about us in
00:36the last few years, especially in the
00:39next couple of years.
00:41What a beautiful time in the Hamptons, and more
00:43importantly, we're so excited about bringing the
00:46Lang Lang Foundation here, and what I think is
00:49beautiful is we have these young pianists and
00:51these singers that actually sing their hearts out
00:54on the water and the beautiful gardens, but
00:56they actually are such a beautiful product of
01:00the foundation.
01:01You know, so many schools across the world,
01:03they're removing arts as the first, you know,
01:06extracurricular activity from the schools, and
01:09so what the Lang Lang Foundation is doing is
01:11coming and bringing that back into the schools
01:13for these underprivileged children, and I think
01:15it is incredible. It gives them the opportunity
01:18to really grow, to learn, to develop in all
01:21different areas when they have the love for
01:23music, so I think it's fantastic.
01:26
01:49I've been following Lang Lang since I was a
01:51little girl, like since I was four when I started
01:53playing the piano. One day my teacher was like,
01:55hey, why don't you like try out for the foundation?
01:57So I applied, I got accepted, and I was like,
02:00I'm so blessed to like have this opportunity,
02:02like, oh my gosh.
02:04In China, they call Lang Lang Effect.
02:06Almost 40 million children now are learning
02:09piano, and also in the western country, what
02:13Lang Lang brought is to show that the classical
02:16music isn't boring. It is really open-minded,
02:20and it's for everyone.
02:21I would look at recordings of Lang Lang playing
02:24the piano, and I also read his book,
02:27A Journey of a Thousand Miles, and it really
02:29inspired me to try and become a better pianist.
02:33And then when I heard about the Lang Lang
02:34Foundation, I wanted to try and see if I could
02:37be a part of it.
02:38From an intellectual standpoint and development
02:59standpoint, you know, music is so important,
03:02and the younger you can do it, I think, the better.
03:05They really discover that the children who are
03:08exposed to the music, their brain is totally
03:12different than the children who are not.
03:14This is really something very, very important
03:17in child's development.
03:19Bringing the music education, we are preparing
03:21those children to the better future.
03:23You learn math, you learn physics, you learn
03:25chemistry, everything comes together.
03:28Music is really an amazing opportunity for
03:33people to come together globally.
03:35It doesn't really matter where they're from
03:37and what their means are.
03:38If they're focused and they're into their talent,
03:42and you provide them with the means to do it,
03:44you know, they'll find a way.
03:46You know, music is the only language that
03:48everyone speaks, and I think it's really important
03:51that everyone can connect.
03:54You will see I can give you
03:58everything you need
04:01Let me be the one to love you more
04:09The music inside make them much more rich,
04:12and they are more creative, you know, and sensitive,
04:15and I think this is really something that we need
04:18in this world, you know, more sensitivity and
04:21creativity and optimism.
04:24In every country of this planet,
04:27you have disadvantaged neighborhoods.
04:30You have the moments when the people really need
04:33somebody like us to bring the music,
04:37to bring the instrument, to help them.
04:39Music is the universal language and can build
04:43the bridges between the nations and people,
04:46and I think we need music very much.
04:49This is exactly what the Foundation strives every day.
04:52We want to bring music to everyone.
04:54There's nothing like changing children's lives,
04:57and it's one of the most important things you can do.
05:01Music is the universal language and can build
05:03the bridges between the nations and people,
05:05and I think we need music very much.
05:07Music is the universal language and can build
05:09the bridges between the nations and people,
05:11and I think we need music very much.
05:19For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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