A new series of episodes from Classical IPR's Intermezzo podcast feature interviews and performances with fifteen extraordinary young pianists who visited northern Michigan this summer.
In June, teenage pianists from the Lang Lang Young Scholars program traveled to Interlochen for a new residency created through a partnership between Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Lang Lang Young Scholars Program — a multi-year mentorship program for pianists under 18.
During their time at Interlochen, the Young Scholars took piano lessons, participated in master classes and gave public performances, including the memorable Pianos in the Street event in Traverse City's Social District.
The Young Scholars also recorded performances in IPR's Studio A with Interlochen's Director of Music Production & Engineering Marc Lacuesta. Each scholar was also interviewed by Classical IPR's Christy L'Esperance.
Those interviews and performances are featured in the latest episodes of Intermezzo, Classical IPR's podcast and radio show for kids and families.
In each episode, listeners will meet one Young Scholar, learn about where they're from and what they like to do and hear them talk about the piece of music they recorded.
The interview is followed by each musician's performance that was recorded in Studio A.
A new Lang Lang Young Scholars episode of Intermezzo will be released every weekday for three weeks, starting Aug. 11, 2025.
New episodes will be posted on IPR's website and available in all podcast platforms. Episodes will also be broadcast at 7:30 a.m. EST on Classical IPR, during the regular Intermezzo time slot.
Season 2 of Intermezzo will launch on Tuesday, Sept. 2 with a "Back to School" theme.
Founded in 2008 by world-renowned pianist Lang Lang, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation (LLIMF) strives to educate, inspire and motivate the next generation of music lovers and performers.
