Pianos For People Announces New Executive Director

Matt Brinkmann has been appointed executive director of Pianos for People, the nonprofit organization that provides refurbished pianos and lessons, all for free, to those who couldn't otherwise afford them.

Brinkmann will be succeeding foundation Executive Director Sheena Duncan, who led the organization since 2014 through a period of exponential growth. Duncan expressed a desire to spend more time with family in her adopted home of Australia, having been transferred to St. Louis with her husband in 2013.

Brinkmann, a lifelong St. Louisan, has an extensive background in nonprofit management and public service, having previously worked in a variety of roles at the Saint Louis Science Center, the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, the Sheldon Concert Hall, Great Rivers Greenway and the Gateway Arch Park Foundation. He has been an active community volunteer for KDHX, the Regional Arts Commission and Tower Grove Park. Musically, Brinkmann is known as a former founding member of the Funky Butt Brass Band, where he wielded a sousaphone for eight years, during which time the band released three CDs and was voted Best Funk/Soul band in St. Louis four times. He is self-taught on the piano and enjoys playing daily.

"We are delighted to welcome such an incredibly talented community leader as Matt Brinkmann to Pianos for People," said Michael Manchisi, interim president of the board of the organization. "We will miss the effusive energy and stellar talent of Sheena as she moves on to new adventures. Under her leadership, our organization received national attention for its mission, its expanded outreach and growth into the community, and overall efforts to break down financial barriers by leveraging the piano as a gateway to empowerment, community and self-esteem. We look forward to building on this legacy under Matt's direction."

Pianos for People was founded in 2012 to celebrate the life of the late Alex Townsend, the 21-year-old son of founder Tom Townsend. The elder Townsend passed away earlier this month two weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. At the time, Townsend was still recovering from a near-fatal carjacking attempt that occurred nearly one year ago. He was the co-founder of Rodgers Townsend/DDB, a prominent, award-winning St. Louis advertising agency that is now part of the global Omnicom Network.

Pianos for People's free music schools, located on Cherokee Street in south St. Louis and at the Ferguson First Baptist Church, provide lessons, workshops, summer camps, and community events to approximately 200 students each year. In 2019 it celebrated the distribution of its 272nd piano. Refurbished pianos are donated to soldiers with PTSD, isolated seniors, adults with anxiety and students in need who want to play. Royce Martin and Nicholas Murphy, two former students who discovered the key to an empowered life through the organization, are currently studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, respectively.

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