Lang Lang made UN Messenger of Peace

Pianist to focus on global education in his role of the United Nations

Published: October 31, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Superstar pianist Lang Lang has been made a United Nations messenger of peace, with a special focus on global education.

Lang Lang (right) was given the role by the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon at a ceremony in the United Nations headquarters on 28 October.

The pianist performed Chopin’s Waltz No. 1 for the ceremony, which was held in the Dag Hammaskjöld Library Auditorium.

Lang Lang, who joins 11 other UN messengers of peace, has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the past ten years and in 2008 he set up the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to encourage music performance as a tool for social development and to inspire a love of music in young people around the world.

In a statement, the pianist said: ‘My passion for playing the piano is only as good as the people it can touch. The youth of today is the world audience of tomorrow. I will do everything I can to communicate the message of education to everyone that I connect with in the future.’

UN messengers for peace are high-profile people from the worlds of art, film, literature, music and sport. The idea is that the messengers can raise awareness of the work of the United Nations through their public appearances.

His fellow messengers of peace include conductor Daniel Barenboim, violinist Midori, cellist Yo-Yo Ma as well as people from other walks of life such as actor George Clooney, author Paulo Coelho and primatologist Jane Goodall.

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