Keys Of Inspiration UK

Believing that music “heals, unites and inspires, and it makes us better people”, the pianist has dedi-cated himself to education through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and his Keys of Inspira-tion curriculum programme.

Asked what inspired him to support UK schools, he told the Guardian:

“We were able to identify many similarities between state schools in the UK and public schools in the US in terms of the way access to music and arts canbe extremely lim-ited when budgets are cut… I was so surprised by how music classes are never a guarantee.”

“The schools and teachers are incredible and are so dedicated to providing their students with everything they can. But it shocked me how access to music education can be so limited.”

Oli Rose, the foundation’s global development director, said all the evidence had showed that music could transformyounglives, directly affecting behaviour, general mood and self-confidence.

“We’ve seen how powerfulthepro-granune can be,” he said.

Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see the joy on the students’ faces or hear from our teachers about the progress stu-dents are making, I’m reminded of why we created this programme -to give children an opportunity to discover what they’re capable of achieving and to lift up their voices through music.”