11-year-old Autistic boy Jude Kofie, who is a prodigious musical talent, was recently surprised with a $15,000 grand piano that was gifted to him by a stranger who heard him play.
Per CBS News, Aurora, Colorado piano tuner Bill Magnusson was made aware of Jude’s talents after a local news story that went viral last year. He was so impressed by the boy’s talents that he felt compelled to gift Jude a piano so as to not waste his gift.
Despite his impressive talents, Jude hasn’t had a single piano lesson. “I was here watching the news when I heard him play something,” Isaiah told Denver 7 last year. “So I grabbed my phone, went down there, and was like, ‘Jude, play that again.’” In fact, his parents learned of his technical ability after Isaiah heard his son playing an old keyboard down in the basement. His father later purchased a larger keyboard for him to practice on.
Magnusson learned that Jude’s parents had immigrated from Ghana, and were sending money back home to their extended family as well as raising four children of their own. “What resources are left to help this special little soul?” Magnusson told CBS in a video that his since gone viral.
The piano was purchased using an inheritance Magnusson got from his father, and while it cost him $15,000, it’s estimated to be valued closer to $45,000. Magnusson also promised to tune the piano for Jude once a month for the rest of his life, and is paying for Jude’s piano lessons. “Somebody to just love your son like that, by making sure that his future is secured… We are super thankful,” Jude’s father, Isaiah, added.