Chinese pianist Lang Lang is one of the Rio Olympics torchbearers. (Photo : Reuters)
Lang Lang International Music Foundation opened the first Piano Lab of “Keys of Inspiration” music class in San Diego, California.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Elliot Wuu said: "I really love classical. Playing for children is memorable for me and it's fun."
Wuu added that part of the foundation's mission is to be an ambassador to elementary school children to introduce them to classic music and help them embrace the genre. The 16-year-old pointed out that it would be more inviting for the future generation to hear all this music.
Wuu, who recently received the First Prize in the 2015 Hilton Head International Piano Competition for Young Artists, on Jan. 22, performed three pieces of music during the opening ceremony.
Chinese pianist Lang Lang started the foundation in 2008, and the "Keys of Inspiration" music class program commenced three year ago, according to the Global Times. A public school partnership program establishes a replicable route into the field of music for children at grades 2 to 5.
Up to now, the "Keys of Inspiration" music program has been launched in six schools in diverse cities, including Boston, New York and San Diego, benefitting 1,223 students, Xinhua reported. The program is set to expand and serve more than 6,200 students in the near future.
An independent public school established in 2000, High Tech Elementary Explorer is the first to launch the program in California. Selected schools receive a fully equipped piano lab, a fulltime piano teacher, and teaching materials and workbooks.
Talking to Xinhua, the CEO of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, Lukas Barwinski, said: "We are taking over the whole cost of all instrument, we are buying also all the education materials, like books and everything, and we are paying the salary to the music teacher for three years. And after three years, the school is taking over the lab and owns all instruments."
Barwinski added that there are not many music schools in America. As a result, the foundation offer free services to underprivileged schools and children that cannot secure chances in private music schools.
