“Astonishing beautify and sensitivity!” - Claude Frank, internationally renowned pianist and pedagogue.

Pianist Lei Weng was hailed as "the exceptionally brilliant Chinese pianist" in his Seattle debut with the Northwest Mahler Festival Symphony on Rachmaninoff’s 3rd piano concerto. New York Concert Review acclaimed Mr. Weng “to be a colorist of exemplary control and to be consistently solid” on his Carnegie Hall debut. After this sold out concert, Lei Weng was immediately invited back to perform another concert at Carnegie Hall two months later. New York Concert Reviews remarked on the second concert: “Weng displayed a powerhouse technique and provided good contrast with delicate moments.” 

Lei Weng has won major 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 TCU/Cliburn Competition and the Grace Welsh International Competition. 

Mr. Weng has performed throughout North America and Asia in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall and the Austrian Cultural Center in New York, the Phillips Collections in Washington D.C., Meany Hall in Seattle, Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood, Washington National Library in Chicago, Beijing Music Hall, Banff Center in Canada, as well as in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras of Cincinnati, Seattle, Indiana, Fort Worth, Shreveport, as well as China National Symphony and Chorus, Beijing Symphony and Tianjin Symphony. Mr. Weng is a featured artist of the Prestige Artist Foundation in NY, and Swiss Global Artistic Foundation in Switzerland and England.

Weng’s performances have also been critically acclaimed as “spirited and full of nuances” by The Cincinnati Post.  The Herald Times calls him “colorful and flamboyant” and claims “there can be no doubt of his proficiency.” China’s Tianjin Daily remarked on his “profound and immense artistry” and Scott Cantrell, music critic from the Dallas Morning News wrote: “Fabulous playing – really fresh, personal! I love the unpredictability, the willingness to take chances, not just to sound like someone else. ”

Mr. Weng has worked closely and performed chamber music with such world-renowned musicians as James Levine, Emanuel Ax, Cho-liang Lin, Pamela Franck, Down Upshaw, Phyllis Curtin, and members from the Boston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and Indianapolis Symphony. He has been invited to perform at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival, Linton Chamber Music series, Huntington Festival and the Messiaen Festival. 

Engagements for Mr. Weng in the next season include recitals in New York’s Merkin Hall, the University of Chicago, the Messiaen Festival and concert tours in the US, Asia and Europe. He will also be touring as a soloist with Orchestra Seattle and Tianjin Symphony Orchestra. 

As a dedicated educator, Mr. Weng is an Assistant Professor of Piano Performance at the University of Northern Colorado, where he teaches applied piano to talented students from the US, Asia and Europe. He has been invited multiple times by some major conservatories in China, such as Central Conservatory, China Conservatory and Shanghai Conservatory, to give a series of recitals and masterclasses. Mr. Weng will be touring and teaching in Asia again in the season of 2008-2009. 

Websites:

Prestige Artist Management Foundation: http://www.prestigeagency.com/l_weng.htm

Swiss Global Artistic Foundation:  http://www.swissglobal.org/en/people/lei-weng/