Lei Weng, Piano

Biography

Pianist Lei Weng was hailed as "the exceptionally brilliant Chinese pianist" in his Seattle debut with the Northwest Mahler Festival Symphony. The New York Concert Review acclaimed Lei Weng for his Carnegie Hall sold-out debut as “a colorist of exemplary control”. Followed by an immediate re-invitation, Lei Weng returned to Carnegie Hall two months later, when the New York Concert Review wrote: “Weng displayed a powerhouse technique and provided good contrast with delicate moments.”

Lei Weng is the laureate of many national and international competitions, including the top prizes in the Isabel Scionti International Piano Competition and the Camerata Piano Competition, Silver Medal in the Wideman International Piano Competition and 3rd prize at the Kingsville International Competition. He was also a prizewinner in the China National Piano Competition and the TCU/Cliburn Piano Competition.

Lei Weng has given recitals at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and Steinway Hall in New York, the Phillips Collections in Washington D.C., Beijing Music Hall, Banff Center in Canada, Campana Theater in Italy, and the Tanglewood and Messiaen Festivals.

As a frequent orchestral soloist, Lei Weng has appeared with orchestras from Cincinnati, Seattle, Indiana, Louisiana, Fort Worth, Fort Collins, Greeley, Paducah, Beijing, Tianjin, as well as the China National Symphony and Chorus, and the UNC Symphony and Wind Ensemble. He will perform in the 2012-13 season with symphony orchestras of Longmont, Garland, Irving, Arlington, Tianjin (China) and Gimhae (Korea).

A dedicated educator, Lei Weng is an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Northern Colorado. He is frequently invited as a guest professor by prestigious conservatories in China, Taiwan, and Korea.  His students have been accepted by the Juilliard School, Eastman School, New England Conservatory, Peabody Institute, Cleveland Institute, and the Manhattan School of Music.

Lei Weng received his M.M and D.M.A degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. His primary teachers include Frank Weinstock, William Black, Claude Frank, Xie Yuan, Guo Zhihong, and Zhou Guangren. He is a featured artist of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, and co-founder of the Colorado Piano Festival at the University of Northern Colorado, and the Founder and Director of the Colorado International Piano Academy.