Dr. Linda Reese's Philanthropic Pursuit of Harmony

April 7, 2009 - PRLog -- A magnificent, beautifully restored 1923-era Concert Grand Steinway takes up so much space in Dr. Linda Reese’s living room that she jokes it is her living room.  In fact, she had to give away her sofa, end tables and coffee table so the piano would fit.

But the Fort Worth family physician doesn’t mind.  It’s a dream come true.  Her eight-year-old son Ethan thinks so, too.  He did extra chores and saved up his allowance money to help buy it.

This is a piano with a name.  The family calls it Maggie Gloria.  And it has quite a history. Reportedly it’s the Steinway that Fed Astaire performed his famous tap dance on in the movie “Let’s Dance.”  

But the story of how Reese came to own it and what’s she doing with the proceeds from her CD sales is even more inspiring.

An attractive, 48-year-old former Navy doctor, Reese is equally at home as a physician, wife (her husband Philip Reese is a cardiologist) and mother – she home schools their three children:  Ethan, Brittany, 14, and Juliana, 12.  She was also the 2007 Westside Little League Coach of the Year.

Now she can add concert pianist, recording artist and philanthropist to her resume.

Although it wasn’t until the Concert Grand Steinway moved in and claimed the living room that Reese went public with her talent, music was always in the background of her life.

A native of Boston, she discovered music around age 10 and surprised her instructor with a few little idiosyncrasies.  While her hands played the melody of the song, she’d use one foot to play the baseline accompaniment she would hear in her mind.

Reese went on to major in music and psychology at Bowdoin College in Maine, then traveled around Europe and worked at a pub in England.  When she returned home, she landed in Texas, enrolling at the University of North Texas Health Science Center and earning her medical degree.  After graduation, she served as the senior medical officer at the Naval Air Station in Dallas to complete a four-year commitment to the U.S. Navy.

When she got married, an old upright piano that she bought in medical school came with her, and it found its way into her children’s bedroom. Every night Reese played her children’s favorite tunes as they drifted off to sleep. Music was their equivalent of a bedtime story.

In 2006, she decided it was time to upgrade to a nicer piano.  And it quickly became apparent how much music meant to her children.  When the first piano she liked was sold – she had put off buying it because of other financial obligations – she was disappointed, but her son was devastated.  “I was so touched,” says Reese.  “When I put Ethan to bed that night, he started sobbing that he wanted to buy me a piano but didn’t have enough money to afford it.”

Finally, after a family trip to Southern California, she found the piano she wanted – the restored 1923 Steinway.  Her son hadn’t forgotten how much he wanted to buy it for her. A few days after the family returned home, Ethan got a little coaching from his dad and bravely called the store manager.  Together they “worked out a deal.”  With $200 saved from pulling weeds, hammering nails and other household chores, the eight-year-old helped “purchase” the piano.  He and his dad arranged to have the piano shipped to their home as a gift to his mother.

“I remember coming home to a moving truck in my driveway and my children yelling, ‘Surprise,’” says Reese.  “It was one of the greatest moments in my life.”

Once she began playing the piano, Reese says she couldn’t stop.  “I practiced two to four hours a day; longer when I started making the CDs,” she says.  The first CD was simply meant to be a Christmas present for her family last year.  But then she produced two more and began to sell them online.  (A fourth is due to be released later this year).  So far, all of her CDs feature two pianos, four hands as well as solo selections by Linda. The duet songs are recorded with Adam Chester, also known as Elton John’s surrogate.

But selling the CDs is not about an online business bringing in a little extra money.  Reese tithes a percentage of the proceeds to three international charities the family supports: Women for Women International, a charity helping women rebuild their lives after surviving war; the Kidmia Foundation, an Ethiopian organization for orphaned children; and what the family calls Extreme Makeover Uganda Style (EMUS).  For four years they’ve been helping a family from Uganda, first with rebuilding their home and then by putting several of the children through college – one is now studying to be an electrical engineer and the other two are studying nursing.

Music has become a central focus for Reese.  She says she is continually surprised at how her songs touch people.  “Music has become a rediscovered passion for me,” she says.  “I feel this drive to share it with the world beyond my living room. There is so much turmoil and chaos in life, yet my music seems to bring a ray of hope and light, a sense of calmness to both children and adults.  For me the message is to never give up on a passion or a dream you have. When you have a gift, whatever it is, it’s meant to be shared.”

You can hear Dr. Linda Reese play in a free concert on Monday, April 27, 7 p.m. at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth.  To learn more about her or to hear a sample of her music online, go to www.drlindareese.com.