On Oct. 20 The Recording Academy commemorated the appointment of Chinese pianist Lang Lang as its GRAMMY Cultural Ambassador to China with a special event featuring a musical performance from the 26-year-old virtuoso.

The free concert was attended by a cross section of 850 New York City elementary and high school students. The students were invited through the educational outreach programs fostered by Lang Lang's charitable Lang Lang International Music Foundation and The Academy as a way to reach kids who have had little or no exposure to classical music. In addition to Lang Lang, the program featured performances from three talented children, each of whom were presented with a scholarship check from Lang Lang's foundation that will go toward their music studies.

Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow welcomed guests to the event and introduced Weilin Kuang, acting consul general for the People's Republic of China. Following Kuang's remarks, Lang Lang took to the stage and performed "Springdance" before individually introducing scholarship winners Anna Larsen, Charlie Liu and Derek Wong, who performed Chopin's "Nocturne In E-flat Major, Op. 9, No.2," "Etude Op. 25, No.11 ("The Winter Wind")," and "Fantasie-Impromptu In C-sharp Minor, Op. 66" respectively. Lang Lang returned to the stage to close the event with additional performances featuring the music of Chopin and Schumann.

This event was sponsored by the Starkey Hearing Foundation.