Video Game Pianist

Martin Leung (/luːŋ/; born October 18, 1986) is a pianist. He plays classical music and is known as Video Game Pianist. He gained recognition for playing video game music on the piano, both in concert venues and in online videos.

Video Game Pianist
Martin Leung, the Video Game Pianist, in San Diego, CA, 2009
Background information
Birth nameMartin Leung
Born (1986-10-18) October 18, 1986
Hong Kong
OriginSan Diego, California,
United States
GenresVideo game music, classical music
Occupation(s)Pianist
InstrumentsPiano
Years active2004–present
Websitevideogamepianist.com

In July 2004,[1] a video of him playing the Super Mario Bros. theme blindfolded became viral. Leung makes YouTube videos, and as of January 2020, has over 102,000 subscribers and 22.7 million total views.[2]

Personal life

Born in Hong Kong to Chinese and Japanese parents, Leung moved to California when he was three years old. After being noticed imitating his sister playing, he was enrolled piano lessons at the age of 4.

Leung placed first twice at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, once in 1998 and once in 2000, and placed third at the Eighth Annual Oberlin International Piano Competition in 2002.[3] He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003 at the age of 16 in the Isaac Stern Auditorium, performing Mendelssohn's Concerto No. 1 - Presto.

On 2 July 2004,[1] the video he and a friend had created of him performing songs from the Super Mario Bros. series blindfolded debuted on eBaum's World and later appeared on other websites.

In December 2015, Leung graduated from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music with a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance.[4] He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2008 and Yale School of Music in 2010 with a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance, respectively.[5][6]

Performances

Video game music
Leung performing at Newman Recital Hall, Los Angeles.

After getting 40 million views on his Super Mario Medley internet video,[7] he began performing video game music from other popular gaming series including Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo, Earthworm Jim, and Final Fantasy.

Leung gave his first live all-video-game-music piano recital at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, TX in 2005. Leung gave 21 encores.[8]

In March 2007, at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards, Leung performed Super Mario music with Koji Kondo and Shigeru Miyamoto in attendance.

Leung has been featured in The Plain Dealer, National Public Radio, Steinway & Sons – Owners' Magazine, Nintendo Power, Slashdot, GAME Magazine, CUBE Magazine, Night Life Montreal, MTV, 1UP.com, GameSpot, and Advanced Media Network.

Classical music

Leung has given over a hundred solo classical music public performances. Some notable performances the grand opening of Cammilleri Hall at the University of Southern California in 2012, Steinway Hall as part of the Yale Pianists at Steinway Hall series in 2009, Sprague Hall as part of the Messiaen Centenary Celebration at Yale in 2008, at the grand opening of Mixon Hall in 2007, and more.

He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003 at the age of 16 in the Isaac Stern Auditorium, performing Mendelssohn's Concerto No. 1 – Presto with the University High School Symphony/Peter Fournier. Leung has also performed with the USC Symphony/Carl St. Clair, Sudbury Symphony Orchestra/Victor Sawa, Regina Symphony Orchestra/Victor Sawa, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra/Victor Sawa, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra/Tito Munoz, Pittsburgh Symphony/Lucas Richman, YMF Debut Orchestra/Frank Fetta, Brentwood-Westwood Symphony/Alvin Mills, Symphony in the Glen/Arthur B. Rubinstein and Delores Stevens, and the Southwestern Youth Music Festival Orchestra/Frances Steiner.

Leung has performed chamber music at Schoenfeld Symphonic Hall in 2013, at Sprague Hall for the New Music New Haven series in 2010, at Smith Hall as part of the Junior Chamber Music Series in 2004, and at the Chamber Music Showcase, organized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts at the University of Miami in 2004. While at Yale, Leung performed in clarinet, violin, horn, and oboe recitals in 2009-2010.

In 2009, as part of the Yale Philharmonia, Leung played the keyboard glockenspiel in Mozart's "The Magic Flute." In 2009, Leung played the harpsichord at the Whitney Humanities Center.

References
  1. "Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra: Russian Romance". Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. "YouTube Stats Summary/User Statistics for mmleung". Social Blade. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  3. "Winners of the Eighth Annual Oberlin International Piano Competition Announced". Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. "In this together: New home for neuroscience at USC is as much a visual triumph as an embodiment of the belief that neuroscience and the humanities belong together". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. "Cleveland Institute of Music Announcements". Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  6. "Yale School of Music Degrees Conferred May 24, 2010". Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  7. "Pianist Makes a Name As a Video Game Virtuoso" (PDF).
  8. http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/eight-bit-symphonies/Content?oid=1080130
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