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Duquesne University Music Professor Looking For Keyboards To Keep Incoming Students Equipped

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Online learning and teaching certainly have their challenges.

Music programs, however, face a unique set of challenges, especially when it comes to access to instruments for their students.

Mary Lynne Bennett, a professor of piano at Duquesne University is trying to make sure everyone who needs a piano has one for the upcoming school year.

"They are all going to need access to an instrument continually so they can practice their skills," she said.

Not every student has access to a piano or keyboard away from the university's music school, so she is looking for donated keyboards for students to partake in any classes that are at least partly online.

Bennett says the piano labs on campus, at half capacity, can fit about eight students at a time.

"The rest of the students will be zooming into the class from wherever they are, whether they're commuter or in the dorm room," she said. "They'll need an instrument wherever they are."

Ideally, Bennett says she would like to have 90 keyboards.

"We have about 60 incoming students," she said. "We also have our sophomores also studying. Some of them may not have access to instruments."

Bennett is looking for 88-key keyboards and would prefer them to have weight and a pedal.

They cannot accept acoustic pianos.

With arts programs typically first on the chopping block at schools across the country, Bennett says it's that much more important to keep instruments in the hands of those who want them.

"We're really trying to raise the next generation of music teachers, music therapists so they can continue to do good work with raising the next generation of musicians," she said.

Those interested in donating a keyboard can reach out to Mary Lynne Bennett at bennet12@duq.edu.

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