The charity was set up in 2011 by Greek-born international concert pianist Panos Karan, who works with three other trustees, and a number of committed volunteers in many countries. Over the past five years, Keys of Change has brought classical music, often for the first time, to deprived or suffering audiences, in remote areas of the Amazon, Uganda, Sierra Leone, India, tsunami-ravaged Fukushima, Greece, Russia and Nepal. Our music has brought alive emotions and generated hope and encouragement. Wherever we go to perform, we also set up and fund music education projects, working in conjunction with local music teachers and local organisations. In Ecuador, we organise weekly guitar lessons for young people from deprived backgrounds. In Uganda and Sierra Leone, we have provided instruments and music lessons for children from poor families. In Fukushima and India, we have made regular visits to work with young musicians to improve their playing, and give them the opportunity to perform in joint concerts with Keys of Change musicians. By bringing world-class music into the lives of people who rarely, if ever, have an opportunity hear music or learn to play an instrument, we have already made a positive impact on many lives. "Learning to play music has changed my life and that of people around me. Now I can see life differently," said a student in Ecuador. We also encourage all our direct beneficiaries to “pass on” their musical experiences, so ever more people can benefit from having music in their lives. In Ecuador, for example, the guitar group has visited hospitals to play for sick children.

Greek pianist Panos Karan in the first part of the Bach in the Amazon project, from Coca, Ecuador to Iquitos, Peru - March 2011. http://keysofchange.org

After six years, Keys of Change, in collaboration with El Britanico Peru, has returned to some of the remote communities in the Amazon rainforest to share music and joy with its youngest residents. In October 2017, Pianist Panos Karan, guitarist Renzo Carranza Perez, saxophonist Alvaro Osco and violist Deyna Elizabeth Gonzalez visited the communities Puqaurquillo and Yanayacu and played music for the children living there. For more information please visit www.keysofchange.org

In 2011 concert pianist Panos Karan set out on a journey along the Amazon River of Ecuador and Peru, reaching out to indigenous communities living in the rainforest and playing music for them. This is the story of how this new audience reacted to this interaction.

Greek pianist Panos Karan in the first part of the Bach in the Amazon project, from Coca, Ecuador to Iquitos, Peru - March 2011. http://keysofchange.org

Greek concert pianist Panos Karan performs for conflict survivors and the disadvantaged in Sierra Leone. www.keysofchange.org www.panoskaran.com

Panos Karan travels with Keys of Change to Japan and plays music for earthquake and tsunami survivors in Tohoku, Japan. www.keysofchange.org, www.panoskaran.com

The earthquake and tsunami of 2011 devastated Fukushima in Japan. This is the behind the scenes story of how a group of young musicians in Fukushima, working with the music based charity Keys Of Change, prepared to give the biggest concert of their lives at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The concert took place on April 02, 2014 in front of a packed house. They received a standing ovation.

Keys of Change and the Kolkata Youth Orchestra Sanjib Mondal - Conductor Panos Karan - Piano Sun Roh - Violin Jessica Heynes - Violin Anna Rosa Mari - Flute Paul Grennan - Cello On 29 November 2014, Keys of Change, a UK charity, and the Kolkata Youth Orchestra, an orchestra made up of 50 young Kolkatan musicians from a variety of backgrounds, including many from very deprived backgrounds, together organised a concert at Vidya Mandir, performing with professional musicians from Europe. The concert was the culmination of several months of rehearsals with their own conductor, Sanjib Mondal, followed by two weeks of intense coaching and workshops with musicians who will come especially to Kolkata to work with the young people. This once in a lifetime opportunity is the brainchild of Panos Karan, the Greek concert pianist and founder of Keys of Change. Karan explained “We would like to use music as an important agent for bridging people of different backgrounds and to demonstrate how all the preparation that goes into a concert can bring varied communities together for the common purpose of listening to music - an act so simple and so powerful, yet so under- appreciated.” Keys of Change vision is broad. As well as improving the skills and experience of the young Kolkatan musicians through the public concert, Keys of Change organised a series of performances in schools in slum communities, hospitals and orphanages. “We are aiming to involve as many people from as many walks of life as we can, so everyone can enjoy the transformative power of music”.