Zion Piano Studio

Tuesday, November 24, 2020 by Jose Quesada | Students

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Proverbs 12:25 NKJV 

Student Omar K. made a video recording of his composition, Luna's Dance, to participate in the Louis Landon Thanksgiving Online Piano Competition organized by Stilwell Pianos in Arizona. To participate, Omar submitted one video of himself playing an original piece of music. The event took place online on Tuesday, November 24th of 2020. The Louis Landon Thanksgiving Online Piano Competition is an event open for musicians of all ages and skill levels. The 1st Place Prize of the contest will get a 45 minute song writing session with Steinway Artist Louis Landon. The 2nd Place Prize will get 3 Louis Landon sheet music books.

Omar is a first-semester piano student at Zion Piano Studio. He has participated in various events such as the FWMTA Fall Festival and the FWMTA Local Competition Contest. Omar received a superior rating at the 2020 Fall Festival.

Steinway Artist Louis Landon will be the only judge of this competition. Louis Landon is a composer, Steinway artist, and Pianist for Peace. Formerly of New York and currently living in Sedona, Arizona, Louis has dedicated his life to music. His career has taken him around the world playing a variety of styles with some of the most recognized names in the entertainment industry. He toured nationally and internationally, playing classical music for Mikhail Baryshnikov; jazz fusion with The John Payne Band; Latin music with "Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers”; pop music with Rupert "Pina Colada Song" Holmes; rock & roll with John Hall, opening for "Little Feat”. 

Stilwell Pianos was started in 1956 by my grandfather, Ralph Stilwell RPT. Grandpa Ralph was always interested in musical instruments and after the war, quickly found his niche as the “piano guy” in Southern Illinois (Decatur to be exact). During his career, he served on the Piano Technician Guild’s board as well as helped design pianos for Yamaha in Japan. In the early 1980s he was inducted into the Piano Technician Guild’s hall of fame and was flown around the country giving seminars on the art of piano tuning and repair. Before Grandpa Ralph passed away, I graduated from The American School of Piano Tuning and started my career as a piano technician in Phoenix Arizona. I soon took over the business and spent many years servicing Stilwell Pianos client’s pianos in their homes, churches and schools. I have since retired from in home work in order to focus on the showroom as well as run my new side project – Piano Technician Academy. The PTA is the first and only completely online piano tuning school in the country and is picking up steam quickly.

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