May 01, 2019
By Christine Ross
A young musician who has never taken a piano lesson is wowing customers in a Toronto book store.
Mark Edward’s fingers glide across the keyboard like a seasoned musician. But he’s not your average piano player. This 29-year-old has never taken a lesson, can’t read piano music, and has never owned his own piano. And started playing just six years ago at an outdoor weathered piano in Calgary before moving back to Toronto in 2015. Mark immediately began the search for pianos in public spaces across Toronto because he can’t afford to buy one. He’s become a fixture at Indigo at Bay and Bloor where he performs all original compositions, even trying to emulate the masters like Beethoven. This virtuoso also plays the clarinet with a twist — playing both instruments simultaneously. He’s hitting all the right notes with shoppers who linger near the 2nd floor grand piano with smiles of encouragement. Mark’s future plans include a possible return to school for to earn a Bachelor of Music degree and eventually pursue a career in conducting. Until then, this prodigy will keep looking for public pianos to play. Listen to my report here
Watch videos of Mark’s performances on his Instagram page here
Thanks to two generous listeners of Zoomer Radio / Classical FM who’ve offered to donate a piano to Mark.
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