Atlanta

Nonprofit music school in Atlanta receives $200,000 concert piano

By Berndt Petersen, WSB-TV
By Berndt Petersen, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — A nonprofit music school in southwest Atlanta that teaches students from underserved communities is about to present the finest performances on this side of Carnegie Hall.

Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was on Dill Avenue where the school received the same kind of piano that the largest symphony orchestras use.

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Before every class, 14-year-old David Walton studies his notes. On Thursday, more than a hundred of them were on two sheets of music.

“It was exciting. I was probably a little nervous too,” Walton said.

David plays the cello and attends the Atlanta Music Project, also known as AMP. It’s a nonprofit performing arts school in southwest Atlanta, where they have just taken a page from Carnegie Hall. 

“When the families first saw this instrument they were like, whoa,” AMP’s Aisha Moody said.

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The school has received a concert grand piano, a Steinway. 

“Each one of them speaks to the individual musician. I always say a Steinway picks you,” Steinway’s Alice Tillman said.  

Tillman took AMP’s directors to the piano maker’s factory in New York to select the one they wanted. The company offered a sweetheart deal and donations covered the rest.

Now, one of the best instruments in the world will be on stage to accompany AMP’s rising young musicians.

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Many come from underserved communities. The school has always strived to give them the best tools, and now they have a Steinway.

“It feels a lot different. Usually, I practice alone. You get used to that. Once you play with a piano it’s a big change,” Walton said.

Steinway concert grand pianos are handmade and can cost up to $200,000.

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