Inspiring Hope In May 2020

This past summer, I took a program that I enjoy and love so deeply back to my home country of India. I have been a Piano Pals mentor for about six years now, and I have always seen the connections that we as mentors are able to make with our students firsthand. 

I began my journey by fundraising for keyboards and additional Faber Piano Adventures curriculum books for the kids that my brother Siddharth and I would using to teach. We held bake sales and activities at our high school so that local student musicians could learn about the importance of sharing music and the change that doing so can create. 

To keep up with the principles of Piano Pals, we aimed to find a school with underprivileged kids who would not be able to afford or have the opportunity to receive lessons. Through our friends and family back home, we learned that one of my dad’s childhood classmates had started a school in a rural village, catering to many students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. We decided that this would be the perfect place to make a mark with our music.

The first day we arrived in the village was a day I will not forget. As we pulled up into the schoolyard, we were greeted by older students---with yellow flowers that they had handpicked---and by the inquisitive faces of younger students peering from the school windows. The elementary schoolers came out with tables to help set up the pianos and a small speaker so that the volume of the piano would be amplified. The students brought out chairs and gathered in front of the pianos so that we could begin our introduction. Siddharth and I introduced ourselves, and we could see their little giggles because of our foreign American accents. They asked us to play a song---we were rewarded with their applause and eagerness in their eyes. After the introduction, we took the pianos inside and began to teach. We had structured the lessons into sessions, with 2 students per session, such that I would take 8 sessions of girls and Siddharth would take 8 sessions of boys, amounting to 32 students in total. All of the students that we taught were in 7th grade, but the students who were not receiving lessons would stand outside the windows and watch as the lessons went on.  (Sahithi is seated in the middle below.)

Every day, we would come and teach our students, and every day, our bonds with the students would grow stronger and deeper. We would stay well after lessons were done and play with them in the yard in their free time. I would show pictures of my life back in America, and they would become excited because all of them dream of coming to the United States. We would talk about the importance of working hard and having goals, and it was clear that each of them held on to every word that we said. One day, one of my students handed me a small paper during her lesson with the names of about 5 or 6 songs. She told me that the night before she spent her free time memorizing those songs so that she could play them for me during her lesson. The small interactions I had with the students, like this one, made me realize the eagerness and the love they had for learning something new.  This meant so much to me. 

On the last day of the lessons, the mood was markedly different, and some of the students were noticeably sad. My brother and I conducted a little graduation ceremony and awarded them all Piano Pals wristbands. The accomplishment that they felt that day was palpable and radiant. We stayed longer to talk to and play with them, and when it came time to leave, I gave them all my phone number. They still talk to me to this day. 

I sometimes call the principal to see how the students are doing, and he tells me that they still play the piano. The students that I had taught now teach the other students who had not received the opportunity to take lessons.

Coming out of this experience, I have learned so much from my students, especially what it means to be grateful for everything in life and to seize every opportunity available. To other musicians: I hope that if you ever decide to visit another country, you take Piano Pals there, or a similar program for another instrument. I promise you that it will change how you view music and the relationships that you are able to forge with it.

When you see Sahithi and Siddharth (seated above front row center), congratulate them for their bold adventure into the unknown.  

Join us this Summer as we train and prepare the next teams for Piano Pals,
Guitar Pals, and Reading Express in Title 1 Schools and for HOC children in Maryland. We hope seeds of learning music will cross the oceans again some day, as they did through Sahithi and Siddharth's generosity.  They will continue to take root in the next generation of youth here in America.  Those who "walk the walk" on behalf of others become strong, resilient,  and compassionate.
They truly make a difference!

        Congratulations to Graduating Seniors in 2020!
  Look for a mid-May Newsletter with photos and testimonials of each one listed below.
 

     The Tacy Foundation Presents Outstanding Achievement Awards                                               To 2020 Graduating Seniors                                            

1. Cyrus Amini
2. Zoë Bell
3. Kate Chen
4. Bryce Edwards
5. Dennis Erickson
6. Kayleigh Hoang
7. Evan Hu
8. Sahithi Kondam
9. Holly Lam
10. Ashley Lee
11. Danny Liu
12. Alexander Matheus
13. Kavya Rajaram
14. Jialin Tso
15. Michael Xie
16. Natalya Volkova
17. Cato Wang

              Thank you for Inspiring Hope, Note by Note!
  ALL BEST WISHES and GRATITUDE for Each One of You.
  

Distinguished Leadership Awards for Chief Interns for 2020

In Northern Virginia

1. Elaine Chang
2. Sophia Go
3. Kayleigh Hoang
4. Raelyn Hoang
5. Nikita Lal
6. Ashley Lee
7. Irina Lee
8. Alexander Msiaszek
9. Alison Oh
10. Alexander Suh
11. Cassielle Sweda
12. Jialin Tso
13. Amy Tsou
14. Hana Wang
15. Emily Wu
16. Michael Yu
17. Andrew Zhang
18. Angela Zhang

In Maryland

1. Cyrus Amini
2. Shairee Arora
3. Ajeetha Arudchandran
4. Zoë Bell
5. Anderson Bernal
6. Jackson Bernal
7. Jason Daniels
8. Dennis Erickson
9. Lyle Erickson
10. Joann Fan
11. Rebecca Fan
12. Ethan Fang
13. George Frisbie
14. Elizabeth Frisbee
15. Evan Hu
16. Andy Jiang
17. Sahithi Kondam
18. Celia Lam
19. Katie Liu
20. Alena Lu
21. Pratyusha Mandal
22. Candace Moore
23. Nastaran Moghimi
24. Tsach Mackey
25. Haydn Ng
26. Nathan Pan
27. Isabelle Poggy
28. Richard Qin
29. Kavya Rajaram
30. Anika A. Seth
31. Ethan Schenker
32. Alexandra Thalberg
33. Julia Ting
34. Natalya Volkova
35. Vladimir Volkov
36. Emily Wang
37. Shaun Wang
38. Alexander Wei
39. Michael Xie
40. Evan Xue
41. Alice Yacubovich