Quin posted Collin's recording of "All of Me" By John Schmidt. The recording was made during his piano lesson, and was for the Young Artists contest put on my The Snowman Foundation.
We had tried recording on our piano last Monday night, but it didn't work out too well, and he wasn't really ready to record. In doing that, it became apparent to Quin, how inadequate the piano is for the music Collin is playing--it just doesn't respond well, the keys don't bounce back quick enough etc. So the next day he looked on Craig's list for a grand piano, and he found one and sent me the e-mail link. I thought wow, this is interesting that Quin would send me an e-mail like that, but then we didn't really talk about it. The next day, Wednesday I went to work with him, and we talked about the piano ad, and he suggested that I call on it. After a few futile tries, the man called me back and I made an appointment to go see the piano in McMinville. I picked up Collin from cross country and told him that we were going on an errand in McMinville. He asked what we were doing, and I told him if he guessed I'd tell him if he was right--so he took a nap, I guess he wasn't in the mood for guessing games! When he woke up we were pulling up in front of a piano repair shop--he perked up and was like "what are we doing here?". I told him we were looking at a piano, and I wanted his opinion. He could hardly believe it! Well, that was fun for me. He played the piano, and I admired it and chatted with the owner. Then I actually wrote a check right there on the spot! The seller, and his 2 brothers restore pianos, and this piano was given to them--it was in bad shape from living in a bar lounge in Tualatin! They rebuilt the inside, and did a lot of work on it, then began renting it around town for different events. So, it's been played by Tom Grant and Michael Allen Harrison, and various other artists. That's quite a history I'd say! They loved hearing Collin play, and hearing about our history with Tom and Michael. Then to top it all off, they delivered the piano that night at something like 8:40 PM! It was amazing, and it was a great deal. The piano has beautiful tone, and they delivered it for free, and will do the first tuning for free. Can you believe it? So, we had about 30 minutes to totally move the furniture around and make a place for the new piano. The other piano is now in my bedroom. That's a little weird but it works for now! I love hearing Collin practice even more than ever! AND, I have to say I have a lot of thoughts like--"just one song, then I'll do the dishes, one song then I'll start supper..." I'm excited!
The other
