Los Angeles, CA (July 9, 2020)—During the pandemic, when people have been stuck at home, the world was offered a free class to learn a song on the piano as a global community and perform it together in a Virtual Piano Recital. Lasting 30 days, the goal of the class was to share the joy and gift of music during a time when the world needed it most. The course was offered by #1 rated online and app-based piano instruction software, Playground Sessions; Multi-Grammy Award-winning composer/record producer/humanitarian and co-creator of Playground Sessions Quincy Jones; and the world’s largest source for music publications, Hal Leonard. Playground Sessions released a special video today of the beginner, intermediate and advanced piano players from all over the world, who came together to learn how to play “You Raise Me Up” in what turned out to be the largest virtual piano recital in history. The campaign had 52 countries participate, with over 7,000 people learning the iconic song, with 925 video submissions.

All levels of piano players learned different sections of “You Raise Me Up,” as participants were invited to post a video of themselves playing their parts to Instagram or Facebook using hashtag #GlobalPianoRecital, or upload to playgroundsessions.com. At the end of the 30-day period which ended on June 16, all of the parts from the different levels were culminated in the “You Raise Me Up Global Piano Recital” – a video compilation of all of the recital submissions from around the globe, and is now featured on playgroundsessions.com and shared on social media.
As part of the “You Raise Me Up Global Piano Recital,” Playground Sessions offered free lessons for people to sign up and learn the iconic song, which included instructor-led classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players. New lessons were released every day until the full song was learned. The song will continue to be available for new students to learn.

Says Jones: “I want to thank all of the wonderful musicians from around the world that participated in our “You Raise Me Up” recital, and I hope that it brought you as much joy as watching you all brought me. I have no doubt that everyone who watches this global collaboration will be inspired by its beauty and the power of music to bring us all together.”

Says Chris Vance, Founder & CEO of Playground Sessions, “The release of the global video with so many participants from around the globe, shows how music overcame the barrier of lockdown to connect people around the world. What's amazing is how many people are new to the piano, some had not even played a note before. People are willing to work at something when there is meaning. My hope is that people will take something positive away from the quarantine, and what’s better than learning to play the piano which can last a lifetime.”

Adds Larry Morton, CEO of Hal Leonard, “Music has the power to heal and to bring joy into our lives. We are proud to have partnered with Quincy and Playground Sessions on this uplifting and inspiring project.”

Brendan Graham, composer of “You Raise Me Up” says: “In these times of great affliction for people everywhere, the ‘you’ can be each of us through what we do to help each other, to keep each other safe…to raise each other up. ‘I am strong when I am on your shoulders, You Raise Me Up…to more than I can be.’”

While people are mandated to stay at home and kids can’t go to school, online education is currently a top way to make productive use of time. People are turning now more than ever to learn music in a time of need for joy, stress relief, and creative self-expression as evidenced by a recent surge in the popularity of Playground Sessions.
Visit www.playgroundsessions.com for more info.

About Playground Sessions, Inc.
Co-created by music legend Quincy Jones, Playground Sessions is the #1 rated app-based piano/keyboard learning program. The company pioneered a sophisticated but easy-to-use learning platform combining video tutorials, gamification and real-time feedback. Fun and easy-to-follow video lessons from world-class and celebrity musicians guide users through the process, from one lesson to another, so anyone can seamlessly discover the joy of music." Aspiring piano players can learn from iconic artist Harry Connick, Jr. who shares his love for music and the piano in lessons.

About Quincy Jones
Named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Quincy Jones is an impresario in the broadest and most creative sense of the word. His career has encompassed the roles of composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, television station owner, magazine founder, multi-media entrepreneur, and humanitarian. Jones is also the all-time most Grammy nominated artist with a total of 80 nominations.

About Hal Leonard
Hal Leonard is the world's largest publisher and distributor of music performance and instructional materials, with a catalog of over one million products in both physical and digital form. Hal Leonard represents many of the world's best known and most respected publishers, artists, songwriters, and arrangers.

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