A foundation provides free and subsidized instruction to children.
By: Michael Redmond
The Small Miracles Foundation is all about big dreams.
Founded in 1996 by Robert Murray Diefendorf, a Princeton piano teacher, the Small Miracles Foundation provides free and subsidized piano instruction to children who would not otherwise be able to pursue musical study. What’s more, whenever possible, SMF places donated pianos in students’ homes. On-site pianos at The Arts Council of Princeton and the Clay Street Learning Center are SMF projects, too.
The story of Gloria Vasquez of Princeton is a memorable illustration of the SMF’s mission. Gloria is the winner of SMF’s first Scholarship Competition, a program that Mr. Diefendorf expects to become an annual event.
The daughter of Juan and Esther Vasquez, emigrants from Mexico, Gloria, age 7, is a second grader at Community Park School. Her passion for the keyboard was apparently inspired there by Stephanie Seip’s electronic keyboard class. Music teachers in Princeton’s elementary schools serve as SMF’s eyes and ears. Mr. Diefendorf vivdly recalls his initial interview with Gloria.
"One of the reasons people love volunteer teaching is because they know that the kids really want to study music. When Gloria came for her with me, she just couldn’t stay away from the piano. She kept running back to it and playing. You could see it in her eyes she really wanted to play the piano," he said.
Gloria’s teacher is Mohak Mhatre of Cranbury, a junior at Princeton High School, a member of the PHS jazz band, a prize-winning classical flutist of the Westminster Conservatory of Music and a volunteer. Mohak served as the SMF’s scholarship competition coordinator.
"For a couple of years now, I’ve wanted to provide opportunities for kids who couldn’t afford to pay for music lessons, and when I read about the Small Miracles Foundation in The Packet, I got in touch with Mr. Diefendorf," she said.
Scholarship eligibility is based on a number of criteria. Potential, enthusiasm and dedication count highly. Residence within the greater Princeton area is required. The SMF uses Westminster Conservatory practice rooms for its classes. Mr. Diefendorf, who teaches at the conservatory as well as privately, expressed his gratitude to the conservatory and to its director, Scott Hoerl, for their support and cooperation.
Mr. Diefendorf alluded to American pianist Russell Sherman’s book "Piano Pieces" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) in his discussion of the importance of piano study to children.
"Mr. Sherman writes that when young people play the piano, they are creating a utopia. They are going into their imaginations. When you give a child a piece, he or she may play it in a way you would never imagine. They throw their whole being into it they try to achieve perfection. I think this is enormously important for society and the world. I don’t want to sound corny, but the truth is that by playing the piano, children are putting perfection and beauty into the world, in their own small way," he said.
The Small Miracles Foundation is in need of donations of time, expertise, money and pianos. SMF can be contacted through Robert Diefendorf at www.plinkonline.com.