He is a Chinese superstar, a piano virtuoso who has sold millions of albums around the world and regularly tops the charts. Lang Lang has also used his fame and fortune to help public schools that lack music, warning at a 2019 awards ceremony in London that such lessons have become a “real challenge” for children in London. the most disadvantaged communities.
He is now bringing music to British public schools in an ambitious project that will create state-of-the-art “piano laboratories” across the country. Each laboratory will have 20 to 30 keyboards.
The scheme is inspired by his programs in the United States and China, in which he has invested tens of millions of pounds.
In the United States, he has set up piano labs in 86 schools, giving 70,000 children access to keyboards. In China, he has installed them in 104 schools, enabling 110,000 children to make music. This is mainly for students aged seven to 12.
The first school in the UK to benefit is Winns Primary School in Waltham Forest, London’s 12th most needy district, where 53% of the population is of minority ethnic origin.
It will receive 30 keyboards over the next few weeks. Each laboratory is accompanied by a curriculum set up by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Lang Lang, with ongoing teacher training, scholarships and headphones allowing group piano classes.
Lang Lang, who is on a world tour, is a virtuoso who plays with the world’s best orchestras. He has more than 20 million followers on social media, and his album Piano Book became the best-selling classic album of 2019 in the world, attracting more than 170 million streams.
Believing that music “heals, unites and inspires and makes us better people”, he has dedicated himself to education through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and its Keys of Inspiration curriculum.
Asked what inspired him to support UK schools, he told the Guardian: “We have identified many similarities between UK public schools and US public schools in how access to music and art can be exceptional. limited when budgets are cut … I was so surprised at how music lessons are never a guarantee. Schools and teachers are amazing and so committed to giving their students everything they can. But it shocks me how access to music education can be so limited. ”
His foundation quotes the Greek philosopher Aristotle: “Music has the power to produce a certain effect on the moral character of the soul, and if it has the power to do so, it is clear that young people must be focused on music and educated in it.”
Ollie Rose, the foundation’s global development director, said all the evidence showed that music could transform young lives, directly affect behavior, general mood and self-esteem, adding: “We saw how powerful the program can be.”
In an online video, George Young, principal of Arthur Tapan School in New York, says Lang Lang’s program has had a “huge, positive effect,” with a 10-year-old boy describing a piano lab as “a gift from God,” adding “It keeps me out of trouble.”
Rose said they officially registered as a charity in the UK before “going full steam ahead”. “We have very big ambitions,” he added.
While the Ministry of Education claims to have invested more than £ 620 million in various music and art education programs between 2016 and 2021, Mary Mycroft, head of music services at Waltham Forest, said she hoped life would be better through the support of Lang Lang
She said: “The current funding challenges mean that more and more schools and families are struggling to support young people to get a full musical education.
Lang Lang said: “When I visit our partner schools and see the joy on the faces of students or hear from our teachers about the progress that students are making, I remember why we created this program – to enable children to discover what they are capable of. and to raise their voices through music. “
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