WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — At age 11, Will Deinzer could play Franz Liszt’s Gnomenreigan, or “Dance of the Gnomes,” on the piano. It’s an incredibly difficult piece that only select adults can play, let alone a child.
Now 17 and a senior at Williamsville North High School, Will is still a piano prodigy. So what do you do with all that talent? For him it’s a simple answer: raise money for a cause close to someone he loves.
Will’s piano journey began with a keyboard for Christmas in 2012.
“I started kind of messing around with it a little bit,” he recalled. “I didn’t have any teaching at that point yet, so it was just kind of me on my own.”
It quickly became apparent he had a true gift.
“I was able to learn a couple little pieces on my own,” he said. “Then once I started taking lessons I definitely felt that way because I learned pretty quickly.”
Before long, he was mastering pieces that would be impossible for most pianists. Of any age.
“His fingers can do anything,” said Steven Bianchi, Will’s longtime piano teacher.
Bianchi says if Will’s playing looks and sounds impressive, it truly is.
“Only professionals can play these pieces,” said Bianchi. “These are not pieces that amateurs are going to sit down and practice.”
Will is aware of his talent.
“I try not to compare myself to others,” he said. “Just in a lot of things, I think it’s not a great mindset.”
The pandemic gave Will a lot of time to work on new pieces, but no audience to hear them. With people gathering again, he came up with an idea.
“I chose to do the fundraiser for the Summit Center because my brother has autism and they helped him out a lot when he was little,” he said. “They did things like speech, social skills, some job coaching as well lately. And then during COVID, they helped him out a lot because obviously, COVID was very challenging for everyone, but especially for him and the way his mind works it was a tough time but they helped him through it so I wanted to give back, and I thought the best way to do that was a concert.”
He made the website for the benefit. Turns out he’s good with computers, too.
“No template, I just built it myself,” he said. “It was a thing I’ve been doing over the last couple of weeks. I took an online course.”
Will’s currently applying to colleges, nearly 20 of them, for computer science. Why computer keys, when he could easily have made a career out of piano keys?
“I considered that for many, many years, he said. “But I’ve come to the realization that I would rather keep it as a hobby and something I can enjoy in my free time, rather than having my career kind of ride on that. Hopefully, I can teach lessons in my spare time and then I can do performances and stuff.”
Will’s benefit recital is on Saturday, October 8 at 2 p.m. at Denton, Cottier and Daniels, a piano store at 460 Dodge Road in Getzville. You can find information and buy tickets at Will’s website: www.willdeinzerfundraiser.com.
The money he raises will help the Summit Center in its mission, providing services to children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. The nonprofit’s biggest fundraiser is its yearly Autism Walk, but the center has been looking to grow its efforts beyond that.
“We really wanted to expand it throughout the rest of the year to increase awareness not just during Autism Awareness Month, but the rest of the year as well,” said Summit Center Development Associate Abby Werth. “We were so excited that he reached out and we’re able to do this with him.”
The Summit Center says it’s always looking for passionate people and creative ways to raise money.