Everything first began after Jane Nixon White chanced upon an an intriguing Keyboard Connection advertisement that stated “Wanted: 10 mature adults who have always wanted to play the piano.”
“I thought, ‘Well, I took piano lessons when I was 8 years old, but my family moved so I never got to continue with it,’ ” explained the 71-year-old. Eventually, she gave a call to the listed number just to check to see if it was too late for those above 60 years of age to learn to play the piano. The person on the line informed her that it really does not matter what age one is in as it is never too old to play the organ. Jane took the opportunity and showed up at her appointed time. Despite her senior age, she was ready to pursue her childhood dream of making beautiful music.
During her class, she met 87-year-old WW II veteran R.J. Hilton. He is a retired wholesale sales representative and currently works as a security guard at the local General Electric plant. Jane, who is a retired schoolteacher and novelist working on a posthumous memoir based on her parents’ WW II love letters, noticed that R.J. had a habit of sitting beside her in class. According to R.J., it was simply because she took good notes. “I think he had an ulterior motive,” she said.
Last September, a fellow classmate of theirs invited everyone in the class to a covered dish party. R.J. took this opportunity to approach Jane. When he found out that she was single, he asked for her number. Not too long after, they began dating. “It developed into a beautiful relationship,” stated R.J.. Two months after, R.J. started to hint at Jane about their future. “I said, ‘R.J., you keep saying we need to think about the future, but as much as you’re a gentleman … are you going to just ask me?’ and he said, ‘OK, will you marry me?’ and I said, ‘Yes,’ ” Jane recounted. Fast forward to 16th February of this year, the couple got married during a Sunday service at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea. For more of the story, you can read it here.
At Awesome Piano, we too believe that it is never too old for anyone to learn to play the piano. All it takes is the determination and drive to succeed. Feel free to find contact us for more information on our piano lessons in Singapore.