Darien Music School Hits the Right Note

When Lori Graves was 5 years old, she wanted to do everything her older brother did. But when she wanted to play guitar, they said she was too young.

“So my parents took me to Biasco Music and said, ‘Pick what you want,’" she said. "I picked the biggest thing there, this massive organ."

She started lessons, but that was only the beginning.

Through the years hundreds of budding musicians have learned their craft through The Keyboard Touch, the music school Graves' now runs out of her home.

Graves still recalls the days when she herself was a student.

Her third-grade teacher asked if anyone could play "Silent Night" to accompany the class for a Christmas pageant. Graves raised her hand. When told she would have to play it on a piano, she said that was OK.

“I went to my (organ) teacher and said, ‘I have to learn to play piano.’ He taught me 'Silent Night' on the piano,” she said. “I played, and my (third-grade) teacher said, ‘Oh, your daughter plays (piano) beautifully!’ My parents said, ‘We don’t have one.’ The teacher said, ‘Get her one.’ And they did.”

Along the way, Graves also learned to play guitar, drums, violin and clarinet. She also sings. She earned her degree in Performance at DePaul University’s School of Music.

“I started teaching (organ) out of my folks’ house when I was 16,” she said. “I worked at a couple of studios. I got hooked up with the Hammond Organ Company, then Yamaha, as a concert artist for the organ. Then I stopped for awhile and went back to the piano, (doing) international piano competitions. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine said, ‘Lori, you still play organ?’ And I got hired by Lowery.”

As a concert artist with the Lowery Organ Company, Graves travels the world. She performs, teaches special workshops and master classes, and gives presentations.

“I love performing,” she said. “For one hour, I get to make people happy. How many people can say they do that for their job?”

Graves moved to her current home in 1994 and converted the lower level into a studio where she teaches younger students. Her older, more advanced students use the professional organs in the atelier, which used to be the dining room.

Her students come from as far away as Mokena and Bartlett. They include both children and adults, some of whom perform internationally.

Graves encourages adults to learn music and has worked with Lowery to make that happen.

“I write their adult organ course, and it’s used all around the world,” she said. “If we can teach a 3-year-old, anybody can learn!”

Some students come in just to learn specific songs. “Not everyone’s going to be a professional musician,” she explained. “Some just want to have fun, and that’s what we do.”

Graves’ enthusiasm is infectious, and the proof is in her students’ performances.

“My students have played in Austria and Germany,” she said. “We had a keyboard youth orchestra that played in Paris, and there were people crying in the audience. (The kids) couldn’t understand it. For some of the younger ones, we had to say, ‘This is OK. They’re not sad. You didn’t make a wrong note.’

"So they’ve seen how it’s touched people’s lives. And I always tell them when performing, ‘This is what it’s supposed to be like. You have fun playing; you enjoy it. Why wouldn’t other people enjoy it too?’”

Graves keeps her students in mind as she works with instrument companies.

“When we started expanding into guitars, we talked to a couple of guitar manufacturers,” she explained. “I said, ‘I want a guitar for beginners that’s easy to play, holds its tune and is easy to operate. We came up with a design and we’ve turned them into L&L Guitars. So we’ve started our own line of guitars.”

Graves also teaches voice. “I just found one of my students from long ago,” she beamed. “She started singing with me then went on. She’s out in L.A. with a young opera association. She just got a chance to sing with Placido Domingo.”

The current band director at was also one of her young students.

What’s the best part of her job? “Just seeing (students) doing it,” she beamed.

The Keyboard Touch is located at 7934 Pine Court in Darien. For more information, call 630-241-9264 or go to www.keyboardtouch.com. To learn more about Lori Graves as a performer, email her at lori@lorigraves.com or go to www.lorigraves.com.