Piano teacher who lost everything in Eaton Fire – including her piano – gets heartwarming surprise

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) — A piano teacher who lost everything in the Eaton Fire, including her beloved 100-year-old Steinway, is now the owner of a grand piano thanks to a Southern California school.

Jeanina Quezada had her Steinway for more than 30 years, teaching hundreds of students and feeding her love of music.

“It was a beauty,” she recalled. “It was part of my heart. I feel like the house was another child. I have my daughter, the house, and the piano was the baby.”

Now, she has a new baby: a 60-year-old Bösendorfer grand piano. It was given to her by Harvey Mudd College after professor of music Bill Alves learned of her devastating loss.

“It’s really rewarding to know that it’s found a place where it’s something that teaches a new generation of musicians,” said Alves.

The college no longer had a home for the unique piano, which was originally gifted to the college’s founding president.

But it’s found a new home, helping to keep the music alive.

“It’s part of your soul,” said Quezada. “It’s part of something you need to feed, creativity that I need to feed in me that I can now play.”