A Mother, a Son and a Dream: The Story Behind Two Piano Journey

When you hear Michelle and Christopher Kuo play piano together, it’s easy to focus on the extraordinary music.

Michelle is a world-class pianist whose story began in Taiwan, where she was a child prodigy. She won the Taiwan National Piano Competition three years in a row as a teenager, later won the National Piano Competition in Hong Kong, studied at the Eastman School of Music and earned her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. She went on to perform at some of the world’s most respected concert halls, including Carnegie Hall.

Then there is Chris. He is an accomplished pianist in his own right, but his path to the concert stage was very different. He studied finance and statistics at New York University and built a career in finance in New York City. He also happens to be Michelle’s son—and, since he was five years old, her piano student.

For Chris, she was just Mom

Growing up, Chris knew his mother could play the piano, but he didn’t necessarily understand everything that meant. To him, she was Mom.

She was the mother who made sure dinner was ready when his father came home. The mother who surprised her children with treats after school. The mother who raised two children while running a piano studio and continuing to teach. Only later did Chris fully understand what Michelle had accomplished—and what she had given up.

Before becoming a mother, Michelle had dreamed of a life as a touring concert pianist. She had performed professionally from a young age and had studied at two of the most prestigious music schools in the U.S. But as her family grew, her priorities changed. She devoted herself to raising her children and building a career as a teacher.

For years, Chris heard his mother say that it was too late. He didn't believe her.

A son decides to do something about it

In 2015, Michelle invited Chris to perform a two-piano recital with her at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Chris saw something more than an opportunity to perform; he saw a chance. If his mother was willing to step back onto the stage, he would do everything he could to help her pursue the dream she had set aside.

There was just one problem: he had to become good enough to perform alongside her. So Chris began practicing. A lot.

He worked his finance job during the day and practiced piano before and after work. His schedule included early-morning practice, a full workday, evening practice and six to eight hours of practice each weekend.

It was exhausting, but it was worth it. In October 2015, mother and son walked onto the stage at Carnegie Hall together.

Two pianos became something much bigger

That performance became the beginning of Two Piano Journey.

What started as a son's effort to help his mother rediscover her dream grew into something neither of them could have imagined: a mother-and-son musical partnership built around a simple idea—that music can do more than move an audience. It can move people to help one another.

Since then, Michelle and Chris have performed in major concert halls across the country and have used their music to raise millions of dollars for organizations working in hunger relief, education and social services. Their philosophy is simple: every concert is performed in support of an organization working to make the world a better place.

The relationship at the heart of it all has never changed. Chris still talks about Michelle with the pride of a son who knows just how extraordinary his mother is. Michelle still teaches Chris—the same person who began studying with her when he was five years old.

Together, they continue to learn what can happen when two people believe in each other.

Bringing their story to Jacksonville

On Saturday, October 24, Michelle and Chris will return to Jacksonville for Two Piano Journey at Jacksonville University's Terry Concert Hall. It will be their fourth benefit concert for Lutheran Social Services, making LSS their longest-standing nonprofit partner.

For Chris and Michelle, Jacksonville has become part of their story. They have watched LSS continue showing up for people facing hunger, poverty, displacement and other difficult circumstances. They have seen the organization navigate challenges like cuts to SNAP and refugee program funding, and they have chosen to keep coming back. They are bringing their music back because they believe in the work happening here.

It is a concert built around a very personal story: a son who believed in his mother's dream, a mother who never stopped sharing her gift and two people who decided to use that gift to help others. On October 24, Jacksonville gets to be part of that story—and we invite you to be part of it too!

Two Piano Journey takes place Saturday, October 24 at 7 p.m. at Jacksonville University's Terry Concert Hall. Every ticket and every gift helps support the work of LSS.

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