His first taste of mainstream recognition came when he played two songs, a cover of Evanescence's "Going Under" and an original composition, as a featured speaker at the Long Beach TED Conference in 2009. While the videos of these performances on the TED Conference website and YouTube channel began to gain Lewis attention in the online world, including a write-up in The Guardian, his appearance also drew the interest of one TED conference attendee in particular: fashion designer Donna Karan, who immediately asked the pianist to compose an original piece inspired by her fall 2009 collection and play it live on the runway at her next New York City fashion show. White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers happened to be attending the Donna Karan fashion Show at which Lewis performed, and she invited him to play in the East Room of the White House for the President and the First Lady.