'The Piano Man' Justin Molsbee Dies at 38

LAKE BLUFF, IL - Justin Allan Molsbee, a unique musical talent known locally in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff as "The Piano Man," passed away in Chicago last week. He was just 38 years old.

Molsbee grew up in Lake Bluff, attended Lake Forest High School and taught countless young musicians on the North Shore with a unique approach to piano and music theory lessons.

“For me it is more rewarding than the student knows - especially when I see a student start from scratch to tackle a piece and own it,” Molsbee said in a 2015 interview with Patch. “Knowing that I had something to do with them acquiring this new knowledge. You can’t put a value on that.”

READ MORE: Local Piano Teacher Stresses Importance of Music

Passion in music is something that followed Molsbee throughout his life.

“From our earliest records of human civilization, the practice of music has been a fundamental part of our cultural development... Drums, flutes, and string instruments have been around even longer than primitive farming equipment. That says something about language, and more basically, something about the way we learn …. I believe that language is music. The cadence in human speech does not differ from cadence in music.”

He was a gifted musician and played piano, drums, organ, guitar, bass, and several wind instruments, according to his obituary. He was a member of several Jazz bands and shared his musical talent through teaching piano and guitar in Chicago and the North Shore.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Union Church of Lake Bluff, where he was a member of the choir. The church is located at 525 E. Prospect Avenue in Lake Bluff.

Read Justin Molsbee's full obituary here

Photo provided to Patch by Justin Molsbee