Rumson-bred pop music star Charlie Puth has donated a piano to the borough’s Forrestdale School, from which he graduated in 2006.
The instrument, which came from Puth’s home recording studio, now has a permanent home in the music room, where Puth was once a student, according to a press release issued by the school Wednesday. That’s his eighth-grade yearbook photo at right.
Puth, who turns 26 on Saturday, produced his own album of holiday tunes as a sixth-grader, selling copies door-to-door and raising $600 for a local church, according to New Jersey Monthly. He later graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional and Berklee College of Music before finding fame as a songwriter and performer with the number-one single ‘See You Again‘ with rapper Wiz Khalifa in 2015.
Two years ago, Puth paid a surprise visit to the school during music appreciation month, when he played piano and sang at an assembly program.
Now, as students enter the room for their weekly classes, music teacher Barbara Leutz tells them that Puth’s piano “will bring the magic of music to your fingers. You, too, may be famous someday.”
