“I owe it to my foster parents because prior to them, I had no one there who believed I would be capable of doing such a thing as playing piano.”

Over the last couple of years, a British TV show called The Piano has set its sights on finding the next greatest musician by placing pianos in public spaces for anyone to play. Last year, they shared the story of Lucy, a blind and neurodivergent teen who was a proficient player despite her severe autism. Now, they’ve crowned a new promising pianist. Twenty-two-year-old Brad Kella won the 2024 competition by displaying his extraordinary skills, using the opportunity to also honor those who made it all possible for him.

Kella, who is from a suburb of north Liverpool, was placed in foster care at the age of 7. “I was so confused, I remember hanging on to the railings outside my foster parents, and just didn’t want to go in,” the young musician explained during his first audition performance at Liverpool Lime Street station. He expected to spend only a night with Ev and Frank, but they went on to become his foster parents for over 12 years.

“When I told them about wanting a piano, they were immediately like, ‘yes,’” Kella recalled. “There was a budget for kids in the care system, and Ev put some money in and got me a piano–and from that moment, my whole life changed.” While Kella couldn’t read music, and still can’t to this day, he taught himself to play the piano. “I used to just sit there for hours and hours, and figured out how different chords made me feel. I don’t read music at all, but each individual piano key just takes me somewhere.”

On top of becoming an extraordinary pianist, he learned a lot about himself and the places he could go through the instrument. “Once I started playing piano, I started feeling this unique feeling about myself,” Kella said. “That I was my own person. I owe it to my foster parents because prior to them, I had no one there who believed I would be capable of doing such a thing as playing piano.”

Source: Pianist Dedicates Original Composition to Foster Parents & Wins Contest