紧密的纽带, a love for music 和 an ugly cry: How a piano sent a 以正确的方式毕业

Allendale High School student Ryan Br和on sat down at a piano for his regular lesson at a Northeast Gr和 Rapids instrument 和 music store, his fingers gracefully dancing across the keys 和 instantly filling the room with beautiful sound.

That beautiful sound from the restored baby gr和 piano was made possible by some 博天堂官方 music students, including a talented 钢琴技师, who helped Mei Lin Wooden, '23, launch 她的职业生涯. A heartwarming video hints at the depth of the story 礼物背后.

On this day in her studio, Wooden sat next to Br和on on the bench 和 encouraged him to focus on those dancing fingers. She talked about what the thumb should be doing, 和 the pinkie. 和 she explained how to position the wrist while breaking down what he 发挥了作用.

布兰登，他计划学习钢琴表演 college, 说 Wooden has been particularly helpful in refining his technique.

“我自学了很长时间，”布兰登 说. "So going into these lessons, there were a lot of habits 这需要被重新编程."

For Wooden, these lessons represent a career goal 在获得大峡谷大学学位后取得的成就. 但是钢琴 represents even more: a rebirth of musical passion, a tight-knit group of students, a deep appreciation for a mentor 和 a 钢琴礼物的举动得到了回报.

Wooden was leader of the piano students in the fall semester, serving as a sounding board 和 someone who kept an eye on 学生们做得怎么样. 这种影响产生于 rejuvenation for Wooden, who 说 she had experienced burnout that 耗尽了她对音乐的热爱.

Watch Mei Lin Wooden's story, including the moment she found out about 天才钢琴

利用托马斯J. 和 玛西亚J. Haas Endowment for the Performing Arts led to a connection with a professor whom she 说 transformed her outlook, giving her 有精力在秋天完成她的学位.

"He taught me that music does not have to be panic filled, it doesn't have to be filled with terror or perfectionism, but that it's filled with so much joy," Wooden 说.

Wooden 说 she had been upset that she needed an extra semester to finish her degree, 和 sought a sign that it happened 出于某种原因. The students she ended up bonding with answered that question.

她把自己的练习室比作“中央车站” Station" as students stopped by 和 she doled out both support 和零食. Lydia Seaver, a senior majoring in piano performance, 说 the students started a group text without Wooden to brainstorm 毕业礼物.

"和 I mean, I thought a gift basket, but we like 要么做大，要么回家. 所以我们想做一些更多的事情 太奢侈了，”西弗说.

事实上.

They originally wanted to bring in the professor from 夏季静修会，但他的日程排得满满的. 山姆·伯格曼，a first-year computer science 和 piano performance student, then had another idea: How about a piano for Wooden's music lessons?

Bergman had learned the skills in his youth to become a 钢琴技师. 伯格曼说，教这些的人 skills had gifted pianos to him to provide upgrades as Bergman's 提高音乐技能.

“这有点在我的脑海里 伯格曼说. “我们并不完全确定这个想法 would work to give someone a piano for graduation."

Bergman found a piano on Facebook Marketplace 和 checked it out to see if he could get it into shape, which he 下定决心.

Now, how to surprise Wooden with her gifted musical 独奏会后聚会上的乐器? 这不是笛子. Transporting a piano presents logistical challenges that include coordinating a trailer, equipment 和 enough people to move it, 和 that's before trying to carefully maneuver the hulking instrument 走进房间. 

所以他们选择送她一张卡片 indicating her gift, 和 to have Bergman use his phone to show a video of him playing her recital pieces on the piano.

和 that moment led to the feel-good video, shot by Sookkyung Cho, associate professor of piano, who 说 she didn't 直到那一刻才知道那个惊喜. 她把这个手势叫做 "very special" 和 noted that the piano studio vibe among 那个学期的学生也很特别.

“我哭得很难看，我能感觉到Dr. Cho just zooming in 和 it was such a sweet moment," 说 Wooden, adding, "It was just so special 和 it's something I'm just going to treasure forever as a gift from my last semester at 博天堂官方."