Seven-year-old Ekaansh Mishra is passionate about music, and now that he has his own piano, he loves nothing more than practicing his favorite instrument.
Ekaansh Mishra explains “The sound it’s beautiful, and it makes me feel very alive. If there was a contest for best instrument, I think the piano would win.”
Ekaansh’s piano teacher, Kathy Hubner Schultz, who teaches piano out of her Lansing home, along with her friend David Kollar, a piano tuner from Grand Ledge, is helping kids like Ekaansh secure pianos.
Kollar shared that “I have people that call me all the time saying I have a piano, and I want to get rid of it. Do you know anyone that wants it? They say if you want it, just come get it. I don’t even want any money for it. I look for these.”
“When David called me and said I have a piano to be donated, I was thrilled. It meant that a family could have a piano in thier home” said Kathy Hubner Schultz.
Last year Kathy and David helped find homes for eleven pianos.
Kollar explained “I think the pandemic has increased the need for pianos. A lot of people don’t want to spend a lot of money at first because they want to be sure there is interest.
When Ekaansh’s dad, Tilak, received the call from Kathy saying she found a piano, he immediately told Ekaansh the good news.
“I remember the day I went to get the piano with Ms. Kathy. We drove to the house to check the piano, and he was super excited and was waiting for me when I got out of the car. He said did you get the piano? Is it in the trunk? He didn’t know how big it would be because all he knew was the keyboard.”
Kathy says an electronic keyboard holds no comparison to a piano.
“When I sit down and give their first lesson on a piano, it’s like a whole new world has opened up for them. They can hear a regular pitch and tone and a quality you can’t find that on a keyboard.”
Kollar finds that “it’s really exciting when you see the light go off and see how music will change them forever. It’s pretty amazing!”
When I asked Ekaansh what he wanted to do when he grow up, he said that ” I think I want to play the piano and write songs. My favorite music singer is Joe Riley because he makes songs about nature. So I want to be a nature ranger and a piano player.”
In the meantime, Ekaansh says he is going to practice playing piano as much as he can. “I would like to say to the people that donated the piano that lots of kids will enjoy it. Even parents can play the piano.”
Ekaansh wants others to have the same experience he had. “If you have a piano and want to donate it to kids, please donate it.”
If you have a piano you would like to donate please contact David Kollar at Davidkollar@comcast.net, and if you know someone that is doing amazing things and helping other people in your neighborhood, please let me know. You can email me at bobhoffman11@gmail.com. For now, we would like to say thank you to Kathy and David for being good neighbors.
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