![]() It’s a neuro-inflammatory disease where symptoms can worsen dramatically with exertion. I told her that I’ve suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for the past six years. “Are you able to continue your college? I’m so sorry I haven’t seen you for such a long time.” Subscribe now »īut after wishing her happy birthday this past May, I told her that I was on medical leave, and would be back home for a while. Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. “Lazy, lazy girl,” Anna’s voice still echoes in my mind. And besides, when asked to play in front of anyone besides Anna or my family, my body would vibrate head to toe with poorly suppressed terror. My beginner’s enthusiasm was not paired with the discipline necessary for regular practice. Giving in to my snotty pleas, she took me on as a student. In light of my jealous desperation, Anna invited me to clap along to a few basic rhythms. So, like the spoiled brat I was, I bawled in the waiting room until they let me sit next to my sister on the bench. My grandparents enjoy reminding me of the day Anna and I met - my 8-year-old sister had just begun piano lessons, but I, at 4 years old, was considered too young to play. I’ve been practicing with my old piano teacher, Anna, with whom I recently got back in touch. I’m a babbling child again, learning a new emotive world through trial and error. My family never made the casual habit of it, never used it to punctuate a phone call, but in Russian, I have acquired a clumsy assertiveness, a bold naivete only permissible for foreign language beginners. The Chinese pianist has been named one of the 100 most influential people by "Time" magazine, performed at a White House state dinner and played during the 2008 Bejing Olympics' opening ceremony.I have never been comfortable with the word love. Lang Lang is one of the best-known piano players internationally. ![]() ![]() Of all the honors Charlie Liu has amassed over his young career - first place at the Steinway Society Scholarship Competition and Gold Prize for the American Fine Arts Festival are just a few - being the youngest Lang Lang International Music Foundation Scholar at age 8 was what he considers the greatest honor. By 8, he was performing on the "World's Most talented Kids" episode of Winfrey's nationally syndicated show alongside a then-19-year-old Taylor Swift. By 7, he was studying piano with professor Ingrid Clarfield of Westminster Choir College at Rider University in New Jersey. By 6, he was playing on DeGeneres' nationally syndicated show. "Things really just took off from there."īy 4, he was taking piano lessons. "Unlike most people, I naturally tried playing with all 10 fingers instead of just two right from the beginning," Charlie Liu said. After moving to Massachusetts, Charlie Liu took to the family keyboard at just 3 years old for a preschool talent show. Thanks to a month of care at the NICU, Charlie Liu would go on to have a childhood more productive than just about anyone. "I know firsthand the struggles premature babies go through, as well as the toll it took on my parents," Charlie Liu said. and married in Iowa City, so it was fitting that UI's Children's Hospital was there for them in their most trying time. It was about this time 17 years ago when Charlie Liu was born dangerously premature to Mingyi, a PhD student of Biochemistry, and his wife, Jinghui Xie, a PhD in Neuroscience, at UI. These two concerts have been in the works for a long time, said Liu's father, Mingyi Liu. Sunday at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, is a ticketed event that costs $15-$35, with a $50 VIP ticket that lets audience members meet the piano prodigy. ![]() Saturday at the First United Methodist Church, is a suggested donation of $20 for adults and $10 for those 18 and under. “I like to use the gift of music to help other people," Liu said. "It does two things at the same time: It helps the music find new people and it also inspires me as a musician." RELATED: Kirk, Mary Ferentz to donate $1 million to UI Children’s Hospital Now 16 years old, the pianist hasn't been back to Iowa City in nearly 15 years, but he's coming back to hold two fundraising concerts for the Children's Hospital via the University of Iowa Foundation and Iowa-based The Preemie Project, a nonprofit that knits blankets and gives general support for the infant NICU patients. Well before he started winning international piano competitions and playing at iconic concert halls, Liu was born 7½ weeks premature at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital in 2000 and spent a month in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. ![]()
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