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Monntel West, a senior at Everette High School, is a self-taught pianist who doesn't own a piano. So, when he saw an upright piano sitting in the east end of Lansing Mall, he took the opportunity to play a cover of “River Flows In You,” a classical tune originally performed by Korean artist Yurima. At the time, West was waiting for a friend and had no intention of giving a performance. He simply wanted to kill time. But, he quickly drew a crowd.
“All of a sudden people started surrounding me,” West told the Lansing State Journal. West has been teaching himself how to play the piano since the eighth grade and has not received any formal training. But, that's not the only thing that's special about this video. West cannot read music and he was listening to a completely different song in his headphones while playing.
About an hour before Hadley posted the video of West, she wrote a Facebook status expressing her irritation with the person who's responsible for putting a piano in Lansing Mall. But, shortly after her post, she heard West playing and knew exactly why the piano was there.
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“I had goosebumps... It was just amazing, and I figured he just deserved some sort of recognition,” Hadley told the Lansing State Journal.
Since the video, West has received several offers for free lessons and a free piano. The Okemos Music Academy owner and director, John Dewey, offered West two months of free lessons at the academy. Dewey also set up a Go Fund Me account to support more lessons there forward. The Go Fund Me account received 82 donations, raising $2,500 in less than 24 hours, and has since exceeded the $10,000 goal.
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West has received recognition from R&B artist Chris Brown and was also invited to play on "The View."
Lansing Community College offered West a scholarship that will cover his tuition and fees as he peruses his dreams in music management.
The seemingly camera shy teen posted an appreciation video where he said:
“It's surprising to me. I wasn't expecting it. But, thank you to all you guys who shared my video. I just want to say thank you to everybody. They really helped me. I've been playing for a while. I really like playing for people. It makes me happy to see you guys happy.”
Viewers can follow West's journey on his new Youtube channel.
