Mitchell Conservatorium [MitCon] student Harry White has been named the lucky recipient of a baby grand piano to further his skills on the instrument.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The delivery was part of a drive by MitCon to award a 100-year-old piano donated by Blue Mountains resident James Wyatt to go towards a deserving student without access to a quality piano at home.
Harry, 8, picked up the piano during the COVID-19 lockdown on an old keyboard, and is already working towards his grade two piano examinations.
"My mum pulled out the keyboard during lockdown for me to play around on, as I was bored and wanted something to do," he said.
"I play around three hours a day, and make sure to balance my time between piano and violin."
Harry's mum Alice Coomans said he hadn't learned any music prior to last year's lockdown, and started off teaching him basic piano skills.
"The lockdown period was a revelation for Harry, as he had so much extra time to play and explore music," Ms Coomans said.
"By the end of the lockdown, he had taught himself to read music and play several pieces off the back of YouTube lessons, so we enrolled him at the conservatorium to further progress his skills."
"Since we received this piano, Harry hasn't stopped playing it, he absolutely loves it."
Harry receives piano and violin lessons through MitCon, and is also part of the Fiddlesticks junior strings ensemble.
MitCon executive director Graham Sattler said Harry was the most worthy recipient for the piano, and hopes it will help his skills thrive.
"Harry has made exceptional progress with limited resources, and his passion and ability demanded a decent instrument to play on," Dr Sattler said.
"James stipulated to us that the piano go towards someone most deserving, and after feedback from our teachers, it was determined Harry's story was the most convincing, and we're sure he'll put it to good use."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News