The Piano Pod Season 3 Episode 5: George Ko, Young Steinway Artist/Composer/Improviser

TPP Team had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Geroge Ko: Young Steinway Artist/Composer/Improviser for this episode. George is a concert pianist pushing classical music forward by blending "Chopin-like virtuosity with the vast soundscapes of cinema." His music revolves around improvisation - a practice typically confined to jazz music - which he's brought into the realm of classical music. Many of his songs are one-take improvs, allowing maximum creativity and spontaneity. George has appeared on stages worldwide, from 2000-seat auditoriums to Carnegie Hall. In addition, his music has been heard at film festivals, television broadcasts, and music festivals in Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, and China. George is also a successful entrepreneur, having founded several companies and nonprofits. He received the CES Innovation Award in Robotics in 2019, the Harvard Gov 2.0 Award for innovation in politics, and a patent in data management. During the pandemic, despite his success in the tech and media sector, he realized his true calling was playing the piano, so he left his job and began focusing on playing piano professionally for the first time. He's now a Young Steinway artist. And Steinway has described him as "making classical music accessible and exciting for the masses.” In this episode, you will hear about George’s complicated yet fulfilling relationship with the performing arts world, his discovery of his mission – entertaining his wide-range audience with his improvisatory skills on the piano as a classical pianist, his candid views about the trajectory of the classical music industry and more.  [George Ko] Young Steinway Artist/Composer/Improviser 🌐 Website: https://www.georgeko.co/🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Y9xt...📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/georgekocreative📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_georgeko/ [Join the waitlist to connect with more potential music students!] 👉 Tap HERE to connect.[The Piano Pod 🎙- Bringing PIANO into the 21st Century] podcast show about 🎹 for ALL pianists Hey, 🎹 lovers out there! We are The Piano Pod, a bi-monthly podcast🎙 show hosted by Yukimi Song and Clara Zhang--classical pianists & educators from NYC. Our podcast show is for anyone who plays the piano for fun, loves listening to piano music, is currently pursuing a career in piano, or works professionally in the music industry. Twice a month, we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the music industry. Started during the coronavirus pandemic as a way to adjust to the new musical reality, the goals of The Piano Pod are to examine the traditions of the piano, adapt th