Alex Coolman
GLENDALE -- When she was 6, Mary Grace Gellekanao visited three piano
teachers, and each one of the teachers told her they wouldn't take her as
a pupil.
If it hadn't been for the persistence of Gellekanao's grandmother, she
probably wouldn't have found a teacher at all. But the fourth teacher
took her, and she has been playing ever since -- a labor of love that she
said is also a tribute to her grandmother.
Gellekanao only has one hand. She was born without a right hand, and
her right leg is also somewhat shorter than her left.
But the 22-year-old native of the Philippines said she's learned to
play around her disabilities. She is able to use her right arm to play
chords in conjunction with the fingers of her left hand.
And that left hand: It gets a serious workout.
On Saturday, Gellekanao will perform at the Glendale Adventist Academy
in a benefit concert for an Adventist Academy in the Philippines. Her
material will be some of the same spiritual and romantic songs she's
brought on tours through Europe and the United States.
In music, Gellekanao said, "I can express what I feel. It's the
language of the soul."
MARY GRACE PLAYS
WHAT: Piano music by Mary Grace Gellekanao.
WHERE: Glendale Adventist Academy Auditorium, 700 Kimlin Drive.
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
HOW MUCH: $10 and $20.
TELEPHONE: (323) 255-7718.
