This On the Road report first appeared on the CBS Evening News.
Late last year, 11-year-old Jude Kofie of Aurora received an incredible surprise. Whoever said the best things come in small packages has never been gifted a grand piano.
The piano just showed up at Jude's house one day.
"All for free," said his father, Isaiah. "Who does that?"
Eleven-year-old Jude Kofie, of Aurora, Colorado, demonstrated a remarkable talent no one anticipated when he discovered an old keyboard and, without any lessons, began playing - a talent piano tuner Bill Magnusson termed "Mozart level." https://t.co/njxydT6djB pic.twitter.com/0BV18zLchE
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) January 8, 2023
To understand how we got here, we have to go back a year-and-a-half, when Isaiah heard a noise coming from the basement. There was an old keyboard down there, but no one knew how to play it, certainly not his autistic son -- or so he thought.
Jude had never had a lesson. No one taught him how to play. But Isaiah got Jude a larger keyboard to see what more he could do.
"It's a miracle," Jude said of his musical talents.
"You think it's a miracle?" CBS News asked Jude.
"That's what I prefer," Jude responded.
Bill Magnusson prefers that, too.
Magnusson is a piano tuner. He saw a story by a Denver TV station about Jude and heard him play. He learned Jude's parents immigrated from Ghana and were raising four children, as well as sending money back home to their family in Ghana.
"What resources are left over to help this special little soul?" Magnusson said.
Using his father's inheritance, Magnusson bought a $15,000 piano — estimated to be worth $45,000 — and promised to tune it once a month for the rest of his life. He's also paying for Jude to get professional lessons.
"We're family now," Magnusson said.
The Kofie family is thankful.
"Somebody to just love your son like that by making sure that his future is secured, we are super thankful," Isaiah said.
Latest Stories
-
CHAN 2024Q: Ghana’s Black Galaxies held by Nigeria in first-leg tie
12 minutes -
Dr Nduom hopeful defunct GN bank will be restored under Mahama administration
46 minutes -
Bridget Bonnie celebrates NDC Victory, champions hope for women and youth
54 minutes -
Shamima Muslim urges youth to lead Ghana’s renewal at 18Plus4NDC anniversary
2 hours -
Akufo-Addo condemns post-election violence, blames NDC
2 hours -
DAMC, Free Food Company, to distribute 10,000 packs of food to street kids
3 hours -
Kwame Boafo Akuffo: Court ruling on re-collation flawed
4 hours -
Samuel Yaw Adusei: The strategist behind NDC’s electoral security in Ashanti region
4 hours -
I’m confident posterity will judge my performance well – Akufo-Addo
4 hours -
Syria’s minorities seek security as country charts new future
5 hours -
Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo re-appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana
5 hours -
German police probe market attack security and warnings
5 hours -
Grief and anger in Magdeburg after Christmas market attack
5 hours -
Baltasar Coin becomes first Ghanaian meme coin to hit DEX Screener at $100K market cap
6 hours -
EC blames re-collation of disputed results on widespread lawlessness by party supporters
6 hours