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Suzan Pleva, owner of Melody Piano, sits at the piano during a lesson. Students are preparing for the first piano recital in their new building on Baldwin Road on Friday, Dec. 3. HADLEY TWP. — Suzan Pleva, owner of Melody Piano, is using the newly restored Carpenter’s Schoolhouse for piano lessons and a Christmas recital on Friday (Dec. 3).

Pleva is a native resident of Metamora Township, and until recently she was teaching piano out of her own home. Her small business, Melody Piano, started a few years ago and has been growing ever since. Pleva says that the majority of her piano students are younger children and teens, though she also teaches a few adults.

Samantha Chouinard, 14, is a ninth-grade student at Lapeer West High School and a Melody Piano student. She also helps Pleva with the administration side of lessons. Chouinard learned to play the drums and guitar before switching to piano three years ago. She has been taking lessons from Pleva for two years. Chouinard will be one of several students performing at the Christmas recital on Friday.

The Christmas recital will be a showcase of students talents and interests, giving the audience a vast array of piano selections from Christmas songs to classical music and contemporary pieces.

Pleva says her younger students were given certain songs to perform, while the older teens and adults were allowed to choose what they wanted to play.

“It’s easier to teach kids,” says Pleva, whose students range from 7 to 50-some years old.

Pleva moved her piano business into the Carpenter’s Schoolhouse building, located on Baldwin Road, just north of Farmer’s Creek Road. The original one-room school building was recently renovated. Both the interior and exterior are fully restored, but it still maintains it’s original structure. The school even retains the working belfry in the front.

Pleva’s lessons in the old school is a unique use of the antique building, which gives it a certain charm and appeal. Melody Piano officially moved into the school on Nov. 22. “Growing up here, I always saw the school building,” says Pleva. “I always wished someone would do something with it.”

The Christmas piano recital will be the official christening of the building for Pleva. The public is welcome to attend the event, which costs $7 per person, but seating is limited due to the size of the structure.

For more information on the recital or Melody Piano, call Pleva at 810-338-5795 or go online to www.melodypiano.net.