30 September 2022 Alumnus plays 'Piano for Hope' concert

News

Date30th September 2022Lincoln University

Lincoln staff and students were treated to a lunchtime concert by alumnus and pianist, Sam Cooper (Bachelor of Environmental Policy and Panning (Hons)), on 28 September. The concert took place in the Stewart building foyer, which provided fabulous acoustics for listening to Sam’s own compositions, as well as familiar tunes such as Wagonwheel and Rocketman. Listen to Sam playing one of his pieces:

Sam offered to play a concert on campus to show his support for Mental Health Awareness Week at Lincoln. His concert was hosted by Toni Lubbers, Wellbeing and International Support, who led a ‘Q&A’ session with Sam in between music pieces to discuss Sam’s own mental health journey from when he was a student at Lincoln. He went through some low times and said that along with the great support he got from staff at Lincoln, having access to the piano while he was a student really helped with his recovery.

“I didn’t realise I was allowed to play the piano in the Stewart foyer, but I saw another student playing it one day, and stopped to listen. They said I could play on it too, so I began to come in between classes to play – and playing on that grand piano and composing my own music reignited my love for the piano. I loved playing it.”

Sam stayed in Hudson Hall during his first year of university, and then went flatting. In his fourth year of studying, he moved back to the halls as an academic guide for first year students, which he found immensely rewarding.

“Helping other students who were struggling academically, or who needed extra help to get excellent grades, really helped my own mental health – helping others really helped me too.”

Sam currently works in Wellington at Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development - and has continued looking after his mental health by having his Casio keyboard set up in the workplace where he can go to play music during the working day. His methods are proving popular, as colleagues are now asking for lessons too.

Sam encourages Lincoln alumni to give back to Lincoln in whatever way they can and says it is especially valuable for students on campus to know they could have access to assistance from Lincoln alumni everywhere to provide advice, guidance, and support.

Sam has a website where you can listen to his music and find out more about his piano journey.

30 September 2022
Alumnus plays 'Piano for Hope' concert

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License

This licence lets you distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon this work, even commercially, as long as you credit us for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of the licences offered, in terms of what you can do with our works licensed under Attribution.

Menu

30 September 2022 Alumnus plays 'Piano for Hope' concert