Local music store replaces Skyline’s piano
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Skyline High School's choir got a special surprise Friday afternoon - one that was 40 years in the making.
The school's piano is at least 40 years old and needed about $4,000 in repairs. Michelle Willis remembers playing the same piano back in 1994 when she was a music student at Skyline. Now, the music store she co-owns with her husband, Spencer, is the one replacing it - free of charge.
Teton Music in Ammon wanted to give back to the community, so they asked for essays from the surrounding area about who might be deserving of a brand new piano. More than 120 entries came in. Michelle says she and her husband, Spencer, selected a committee from area businesses to read the entries and make a decision. Skyline High School was selected.
Both Michelle and Spencer Willis were on hand to watch the piano delivery to the choir room on May 12, with excited students looking on. When asked how it felt to be back at Skyline giving a piano to her old music room, Michelle said, "It's incredible...the feeling inside this room, as I walk in - all the years that I spent singing here and creating great music, learning more about music, and creating this sense of family and community in music - it's still here."
