Let them play it again

Luis Pena

The sounds of Beethoven and Mendelssohn resonated throughout Crown

Cove Senior Residence community in Corona del Mar as talented young

musicians from the Music Students’ Service League of Orange Coast

Cities North shared their love of music to help raise funds for a new

piano.

Crown Cove has a 90-year-old piano that the students use for

performances. The piano has metal strings that connect prongs to the

keys, which would cost more than $10,000 to replace, said Anne Kozma,

activities director at Crown Cove.

Seniors at the center applauded the elementary and high school

performers after each song, and thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

Margaret Storie, 86 a resident of Crown Cove, loves attending the

student concerts. “I love the music ... they use the classics and not

that awful stuff they have on TV,” Storie said.

Storie knows the hard work that these young players put into their

music because she took lessons when she was younger. Martin Leung,

17, and a senior at University High School in Irvine, has been

playing piano for 12 years and practices 20 hours a week. Leung

enjoys playing before the seniors, because to him it’s great to meet

different generations. He recently won a music competition at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall and will be playing with the Los Angeles

Philharmonic in a special performance.

“It’s a really good way to express yourself emotionally, because

in music you can express emotions that can’t be expressed in real

life,” Leung said.

“Movement 1: Molto Allegro” by Mendelssohn was a piece that Leung

enjoyed playing with his piano trio because it is very lively.

Austin Lu, 12, a sixth-grader at Turtle Rock Elementary School in

Irvine, has been playing the cello for five years and says that when

he’s onstage he doesn’t get nervous. One of the younger musicians who

got up onstage was 10-year-old Ellen Landis, a fifth-grade student at

Newport Heights Elementary.

Donations for the piano are being accepted by the organization and

checks can be made out to MTAC-OCCN with a notation on the checks

that the funds are to go to the Crown Cove Piano Fund. Checks can be

sent to the Music Students’ Service League, 1823 Port Carlow Place,

Newport Beach, CA 92660.

* LUIS PENA is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at luis.pena@latimes.com.