A passion for music runs in Diane Umile’s family.
The Harrison resident has orchestrated a way to stoke that passion for others through a new nonprofit, Pete’s Heartstrings.
Run from her home along McWilliams Drive in the Birdville section of the township, Umile’s efforts provide musical instruments to people in need.
“It started a few years back to honor my brother, whose name was Pete and who was an excellent guitarist,” said Umile, 64.
“He passed away in 2019, and I wanted to honor his memory.”
At the time, Umile’s family lived in the eastern part of the state. They launched Pete’s Heartstrings and the charity grew quickly.
“It snowballed so much so that we had a house full of instruments,” Umile said.
The group gifted a few hundred instruments, mostly guitars, clarinets and flutes, from 2020 to 2023.
When she moved to Harrison late last year, Umile wanted to keep the effort going.
The “west branch” was born.
While the movement is relatively new, it has received positive feedback on social media.
The hope is to provide flutes, guitars and other instruments to needy families from Tarentum to Kittanning.
“Music is a wonderful thing to have in your life,” Umile said. “There’s a lot of people who can’t just go out and buy an instrument. They can be costly.”
Even inexpensive instruments can cost $100 or more. Donations are beneficial not only to the pocketbook but to mental health as well, she said.
“For me, music is like therapy,” Umile said.
Harrison resident Bonnie Crawford is among the first donors locally. She purchased an antique clarinet at an estate sale with the intentions of restoring the nearly 100-year-old instrument.
She ultimately decided to donate it instead.
“I figured they might want to put it on display at the very least,” Crawford said. “Or maybe it’s something a child can learn to play on.”
A Highlands graduate, Crawford, 71, said she learned to play the organ in high school because her father said it would be a lifelong skill.
“I’ve never regretted it,” she said. “It’s something no one can take from you, and you never know where it can take you.”
Umile, a piano player for more than five decades, teaches lessons in her home studio, Brandywine Music. With her guitar-playing husband, the duo enjoys entertaining crowds at festivals and other small-town gatherings.
They played in a band for several years and music is a constant in their home.
Pete’s Heartstrings was a natural extension for the pair.
“I wanted to be part of something that brings music to people,” Umile said.
Back east, people became so familiar with the project that there would be knocks at the door pretty much daily.
Sometimes, minor repairs or new strings were needed on the instruments. But mostly, people would come to Umile with similar stories of “Oh, I remembered that this was in the attic, and I want to see it in a good home.”
Some of the most unique donations, she recalled, were a stand-up bass and a xylophone.
“One time that really stands out was a guy who pulled up in a small clown car that was completely full with instruments,” she said, laughing.
“I think there was an accordion in that haul. That was pretty unique.”
Umile’s sister-in-law maintains the original charity, making Pete’s Heartstrings a cross-state venture.
“We’ve had several requests for instruments since starting here, and we keep trying to get the word out for donations,” she said.
“I want to bring music to people, especially kids. It’s something you can do forever.”
