Liu Hao is a young blind pianist born in 2001 in rural China. Although he permanently lost his vision shortly after birth, his love for music emerged at the age of three when he began playing songs on the keyboard. By the time he was seven, his musical talents and versatility blossomed, inspired by the world-renowned Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang.

Awards

• 2019 — Liszt International Youth Piano Competition, China Finals, Gold Prize

• 2016 — Life Goes On (Vienna, Austria)— Tara Award — theXXX

• 2015 — Beijing 7th Steinway National Youth Piano Competition, Amateur Finals, 1st Place

• 2010 — Schumann International Youth Piano Competition (Berlin, Germany), International Finals, 3rd Place

• 2009 — Schumann International Youth Piano Competition, Beijing Region, 1st Place; Asia-Pacific Region, 3rd Place

Liu Hao has been featured in numerous Chinese national and regional television programs, including CCTV’s “Lesson 1”, “The Genius Stage”, “Juvenile China Strong”, and “Challenging the Impossible”. In 2007, he was selected through rigorous screenings to perform with Lang Lang in the “101 Pianists Program”. Ten years later, in August 2017, he attended the “Lang Lang Philanthropy Masterclass” at the National Center for the Performing Arts. Liu’s influential story has also been adapted into two inspirational films, “A Blind Piano Boy” (2011) and “Dream Chasing” (2016), with A Blind Piano Boy starring Liu Hao himself. Additionally, he was nominated for the 2012 Beijing Role Model award.

Performances Highlights

• January 2023 – An online fundraising performance for the Chinese New Year Charity Concert, organized by the Montreal Chinese Culture and Arts Foundation and Rotary Club of Old Montreal.

• November 2022 – A performance at the National Arts Club in New York.

• July 2022 – A solo piano concert at Xian Music Hall, China, followed by his “Sunshine from the Fingertips” concerts in Guangdong and Beijing, China.

• January 2019 – “Sunshine from the Fingertips” solo concert in Beijing.

• May 2018 – First piano recital in the U.S. at the Nicholas Concert Hall of Rutgers University, New Jersey.

• January 2018 – First performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City, invited by the Crescendo International Music Competition Committee.

• February 2018 – Performed the 4th movement of the Yellow River Piano Concerto with the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra at the Chinese Spring Festival Evening in New Jersey.

Over the years, Liu Hao has been fortunate to study with many excellent piano teachers, including Liu Yongxue, Wang Haibo, Zhang Zhiwei, Zhang Jin, Wang Qiu, and Li Huili. Among them, he spent the most time learning under Professor Sheng Yuan from the China Central Conservatory of Music. During the pandemic, he has been under the careful guidance of Professor Jerome Lowenthal, a renowned piano educator from the Juilliard School.

Since August 2022, Liu Hao has been pursuing piano performance degree at Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University under Professor Alexander Shtarkman, Chair of the Piano Department.

Liu’s musical journey has been enriched by the generous support of various organizations, including the Beijing Apple Charity Foundation, Zhou Libo & Hu Jie Public Charity Fund, Edifier Musicians Foundation, Si-Yo Music Society Foundation, New York Yellow Crane Club, and Beijing Yixi International Costume.

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