101 Pianists®

Classical piano sensation Lang Lang has been bringing his unique 101 Pianists® young musicians concert to stages around the globe.

On December 9, 2016, the event came to Seoul in South Korea. At the Lotte Concert Hall Lang Lang and 100 students performed on Roland digital pianos.

On October 27, 2017 at Konzertsaal Tonhalle Maag in Zurich, Switzerland in collaboration with Musikchoschule Konservatorium Zurich, Musikschule Kloten and Musikschule Zollikon we have held a very successful 101 Pianist® Event in Zurich, Switzerland.

100 talented local young musician and Lang Lang, were performing for 1,200 engaged audiences. The entire event, rehearsal and selection of the participants was filmed by the Swiss National TV SFR.

Thank you for everyone’s support and we would love to bring 101 Pianist® to your city next!

Classical Piano Sensation Lang Lang to Bring Acclaimed “101 Pianists®” Event to Los Angeles.

Lang Lang and 100 students perform on Roland digital pianos in unique program.

Los Angeles, CA, July 13, 2016 — Classical piano sensation Lang Lang has been bringing his unique “101 Pianists®” young musicians concert to stages around the globe. On July 11, 2016, the event came to the L.A. area for the first time, co-presented by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation® and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. One hundred piano students from the Colburn School of the Performing Arts and the Colburn School Music Academy took the stage at the Walt Disney Concert Hall to perform in a unique concert environment. Each student was paired with another student on one of 50 Roland HP-504 digital pianos as well as Steinway & Sons grand pianos. Together, they performed two-handed arrangements of Schubert’s Marche Militaire, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance, and Mozart’s Rondo alla Turca – accompanied by world-renowned pianist Lang Lang.

After a morning rehearsal with a conductor from the LA Phil, the students joined together as a “piano orchestra” in a free concert that was enjoyed by parents, teachers, and the entire community. Lang Lang offered the students positive feedback, emphasizing the importance of dynamics, tempo, and an important skill for playing in a group setting — listening to their fellow players. Afterward, he posed for photos and entertained students’ questions, which included favorites such as, “How long do you practice?” “What is your favorite music?” And of course, “Do you ever get nervous?”

The program visits multiple cities around the world each year with international support from Roland Corporation, who provides 50 pianos for the students to play. “We are proud to be involved with Lang Lang’s foundation and all they do to introduce children to the love of playing music,” states Roland Corporation U.S. President & CEO Jay Wanamaker. “We are especially happy to be involved this time around, since the event includes youth from our own backyard in Los Angeles.”

The series, dubbed “101 Pianists®” is the brainchild of Lang Lang. Its mission is to share classical music with children around the world, as well as to offer piano students a way to perform as a group in more of a social setting, similar to the experience had by their peers who participate in school bands and orchestras. “I started 101 Pianists® to give piano students an opportunity to play together,” says Lang Lang. “It started about 15 years ago at one of my concerts where I invited students to join me for an encore – and we had a wonderful time. So, I wanted to do more of these events as a workshop and also a performance for the community. It’s now one of the key programs of my foundation.”

On Tuesday May 10th, at Temple University’s Performing Arts Center, Lang Lang wrangled a roomful of children and teenagers dressed in recital clothes through Schubert and Brahms for performance of 101 Pianist®.

The event was a successful collaboration between the foundation and the Philadelphia Orchestra, inviting amateur musicians to play en masse with professionals. In the past, a clutch of cellist played with Yo Yo Ma, and a herd of harpists played with the Orchestra’s Elizabeth Hainen.

The event allowed the young musicians to ply Lang Lang with questions about this musical education. The Chinese-born musician moved to Philadelphia at age 13 to study music at the Curtis Institute, while completing his academics at the private Rittenhouse Academy. He said he was dismayed to discover many of his peers at Rittenhouse had little or no classical music education.

At this event the Foundation also announced the new extension of our Keys Of Inspiration program to three schools in the Philadelphia School District, and provide a stipend for each to have a full-time music teacher for three years.

The three elementary schools receiving the grants are Fox Chase, Edward T. Steel, and Southwark. Their music education programs range from relatively robust to nonexistent.

“Rolling out in Fox Chase, where the climate has been stable for years, as well as Steel with a new principal and recent turmoil, will enable us to measure the consistencies and differences,” said the school district’s director of music education, Frank Machos. “That will help us scale the model across the district.”

The Edward T. Steel elementary school, in the Hunting Park neighborhood, is one of the district’s lowest-performing schools. After a hotly contested debate in 2014, the School Reform Commission decided against turning it into a charter school.

Foundation CEO Lukas Barwinski determined that the Philadelphia schools were most likely to continue music programs after the three-year grant ended.

“This is what we found, this energy and support from every principal, really fantastic,” said Mr. Barwinski. “This is exactly what Philadelphia needs.”

On January 17th, 2015, our famous 101 Pianists program took place in Paris, France as part of the grand opening of the Philharmonie De Paris at 4:00pm local time.

Honored to be one of the premier performances celebrating the unveiling Paris Philharmonie, thousands of Parisian piano lovers gathered for this years 1st 100 Pianists. 100 students from the conservatory piano classes of Ile-de-France joined Lang Lang in an unforgettable experience in the Jean Nouvel designed concert hall. Making headlines from the New York Times to France Musique, 101 Pianists continues to unite and inspire the young pianists of the world.

100 children were selected between the ages of 6 and 16 to play along with Lang Lang at the 101 Pianists event will take place in Amsterdam at the The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on November 23, 2014.

Workshops
The workshops were two weeks prior to the main event. All selected participants must attend the workshops. The concert was led by a piano teacher you’ve rehearsed the pieces with to be played on November 23. During these workshops, it is assumed that you have practiced at home.

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post presented the New York debut of 101 Pianists on October 26, 2014 at 4 pm.

The program was coordinated by Tilles Center’s Department of Arts Education in collaboration with Professor Stephanie Watt, piano faculty from LIU Post’s acclaimed School of Visual and Performing Arts’ and Johanna Kosak, piano faculty from Suffolk Community College and program coordinator of the event.

Students performed the Marche Militaires, Op 51, No. 1 by F. Schubert and Rondo Alla Turca, K. 331 by W.A. Mozart for and along with Lang Lang on October 26th, following his solo recital on the evening of October 25th.

100 piano students between the ages of 6 and 16 participated in the master class in Kowloon, Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Culture Hall, on December 17, 2014.

The young pianists encountered a first-hand experience of playing with an inspiring and naturally engaging teacher during the workshop.

The first 101 Pianists event in China

December 10, 2013 at 5:30PM at Shenzhen Children’s Palace, Crystal Hall. The beginning of many more to come, is still one of our most memorable experiences of The Foundation!

On November 10, 2012 the 101 Pianists took place at the world famous Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

The Kennedy Center Education Department commissions, produces, presents, and tours performances for students, teachers, adults, and families; offers professional development opportunities in the arts for teachers and artists; creates and implements model programs for use by other performing arts centers and schools; develops and encourages community and national outreach programs; fosters careers of young artists and arts managers; and provides arts education resources via satellite, the Internet, in print, and in person. Performances for school groups provide opportunities to learn, to explore, and to embrace the arts.

Students in grades K-12 participate in performance/demonstrations, rehearsals, master classes, and discussions presented by the artists and companies performing at the Kennedy Center.

100 young pianists (ages 8–18 ) were selected from the Washington DC area to play and participate in the masterclass setting together with Lang Lang on the Concert Hall stage.

They received big applause of an audience which consisted of more than 2,500 middle school and high schools kids and parents from the area, as they played Franz Schubert’s Marche Militaire No. 1 and Johannes Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 5 for piano four hands. At the end of the program, as big surprise for the grand finale, world known pianist and conductor, Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, came to the stage and played four hands together with Lang Lang and the 100 young pianists.

At the end of the program, each participant received a participation certificate as well as a copy of Lang Lang’s autobiography Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story, both of which were personally signed by Lang Lang.

On June 22, 2012 the 101 Pianists Event took place in Rome, Italy at the famous Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world. Officially founded in 1585, it has evolved over the centuries from an organization of largely “local” musicians to a modern academy and symphonic concert organization of international repute. Uniting an academic body of 100 of the most illustrious exponents of culture and music with a symphonic orchestra and chorus that are among the most internationally renowned, the Accademia carries out professional musical training and conserves an extremely rich historical patrimony, thus reflecting its own multi-century history.

This was the first collaboration with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and a first event in Italy for the Foundation. Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia selected 100 talented high school kids from near by schools and prepared them for Lang Lang’s arrival. At the concert/masterclass the kids did a fantastic job of playing the Franz Schubert’s Marche Militaire No. 1 and Johannes Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 5 for piano four hands, after which they had many questions for Lang Lang. Many of the young adults selected for this event, are aspiring young musicians and are looking to apply to music conservatories.

At the end of the program, each participant received a participation certificate as well as a copy of Lang Lang’s autobiography Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story, both of which were personally signed by Lang Lang.

On November 13, 2011, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra hosted classical pianist Lang Lang in an unprecedented two-week residency for the first time of its kind in North America.

During his stay in Toronto, Lang Lang explored all of the piano concerti written by Beethoven – his first time performing all the concerti in such a concentrated time span! Lang Lang played Beethoven Concerto Number 1 (November 9), Concerto No.3 (November 10), Concerto No.4 (November 12), Concerto No.2 (November 17), and Concerto No.5 (November 19).

Lang Lang saluted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s extensive education programs with three special performances for Toronto-area high school students, providing an inspiring concert experience for over 7,500 young people. His visit in Toronto culminated with the Canadian debut of an incredible education event, Lang Lang’s “101 Pianists®” workshop.

The event was extremely successful. 11 organizations were involved, including 10 schools and one private teacher’s association, 2,176 members in the audience and ther was a great deal news coverage.

The 101 Pianists® performances aimed to inspire the next generation of music lovers and performers by engaging 100 young pianists in a unique social musical event with Lang Lang in San Francisco, CA.

Guided by Lang Lang’s encouraging teaching style, these young piano enthusiasts celebrated their love of playing, collaboration with other musicians, and enjoyed the inherently social nature of the traditionally solo piano during a master class and public performance. The participants created a joyous sound magnified one hundred times over and provided an extraordinary show for their local youth community who comprised the majority of the audience.

2011
Steinway Artist Lang Lang is a world famous pianist who is credited of inspiring 40 million children in China to learn piano (the famous “Lang Lang Effect”).

In recent years, Lang Lang has been taking his talent out to other parts of the world. hoping to inspire children the same way across the globe. As part of the program is called Lang Lang Inspires.

On May 22, 2011, Lang Lang and 100 outstanding British young pianists conquered the Royal Festival Hall stage in London with their dazzling performance. This event was organized by Lang Lang International Music Foundation®, with Southbank Center, an united Kindom based classical piano organization as a partner.

There are over 500 internet audition entries for the open call. Lang Lang himself selected and narrowed down to 102 children ranging in age from 6~23 years old.

All the instruments used in this event were sponsored by Steinway hall – London. These pianos definitely lightened the London Royal Festival Hall stage.

Tickets for this event were sold out months before. The audience was much satisfied with the performance. Six bright young pianists were selected as the finalists for solo performances. The rest of the group got the opportunity to play with Lang Lang, conducted by James Lowe. Beethoven’s Fifth was played during the finale.

The 101 Pianists® event has yet traveled to lots of major cities internationally, the spirit of music and Lang Lang’s inspiring image will continue to affect more children to learn to love and be passionate about classical music.

2009
During his 10-day residency with the London Symphony Orchestra, Lang Lang carved out time to participate in various educational activities and to inspire Britain’s young classical music fans and future stars.

From the beginning of LSO Residency, Lang Lang’s first priority was to connect with children. On Saturday, April 18 he gave an unprecedented workshop for 100 piano players.

Participating in the workshop were children and adults of all ages – ranging from grade 2 to professional standard players — and who came from all across the UK, including London, Kent, the West Midlands, Teesside and Northern Ireland to play alongside and learn from the world-star. Later in the day, Lang Lang conducted a masterclass for students form the Guildhall School of Music. He joined other Chinese pianists at St. Luke’s for a performance that was followed by an online Q&A session. Lang Lang performed Bartok’s piano concerto No. 2, the UK premier of Chinese composer Tan Dun’s piano concerto, and concluded with a solo recital. His nonstop schedule during his residency showed his tireless enthusiasm for sharing his love of classical music with the world.

Lang Lang collaborated with the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Education Program during his residency to produce a 100 Piano Extravaganza, a production inspired by the success of the original 100 Pianos Extravaganza event in London in April, 2009.

One hundred students of all ages and various skill levels were brought together on one stage under the guidance of Lang Lang to perform Franz Schubert’s March Militaire in D major with a four hands piano composition.

After two months of practicing individually, the selected students sat down at the piano in newly formed pairs and were inspired by the shared experience of playing with a partner and the community effort of making music. While Lang Lang gave technical instruction and performance notes an enthralled audience of almost 3,000 watched the creative, rehearsal process and a few hours later enjoyed the final concert.

Later in the day Lang Lang gave a public master class to two piano students, Daniel Seng and Daniel Schneidt, from local Berlin music academies at the Chamber Music Hall. The room was filled with about 1,500 piano students and lovers of classical music who watched and learned from the instruction that was taking place on stage.

Whether leading a group of 100 students or giving one on one instruction, Lang Lang’s natural teaching ability and engaging style enable him to honestly connect with others. Both events were part of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation’s® and Berliner Philharmoniker’s music education programs. A special chamber music program with the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Lang Lang capped off the day of musical collaboration.