About Us
A student-led nonprofit bringing piano to seniors and underserved communities
Our Story
Project Pacemaker didn't start with a lofty goal. It started with a piano and a room full of people.
Every time Edward performed at a senior center, people came up afterward. The compliments were kind, but the conversations that stayed with me were quieter — someone who used to play and couldn't anymore, because of disease, or money, or just the way life went. Someone who had always wanted to learn, and finally had the time but no way in.
That gap is why we exist. What began with a few students at Montgomery Blair High School is now a way for communities to reconnect with music, and for people to pick it up for the first time.
Our Mission
Our mission is to expand access to music by empowering seniors, students, and teachers to learn the joy of playing piano first hand.
We believe in the healing power of music, and the evidence backs it up. Research — including our own — shows that music can uplift mood, support mental health, and benefit cardiovascular and physical well-being. That's why access matters.
Our Reach
What started at one high school now spans three countries.
United States
Moderna Reserve Bethesda
Solera Senior Living
United Kingdom
Seven Oaks Academy London
China
Shuangjing Gongheyuan
Meet The Team
Founder & President
Edward Zhu
Edward has been playing piano since he was 6. He has performed in the most prestigious concert halls of over 10 countries and was a winner of the IAMGC 2025 Piano Competition.
Vice President
Kevin Shen
Kevin goes to Montgomery Blair High School and likes math, science, history, Pokémon, and piano. He's been playing piano since elementary school and occasionally volunteers at the Tacy Foundation.
Senior Tutor
Aurelia Miller
Aurelia Miller is a junior in the STEM magnet at Montgomery Blair High School. She is passionate about music, math, programming, and logic puzzles, and she knows a lot of weird fun facts about history.
Senior Tutor
Charlie Stellar
Charlie Sellar is an oboist, and pianist at Blair High School. He also loves to compose music, and would like to major in music. Outside of music, Charlie is on a competitive rock climbing team in DC.
Senior Tutor
Evvaleen Robinson
Evvaleen loves history and archives, and she enjoys going to museums regularly. She also does a lot of scriptwriting and theatre, composes and performs songs on the piano, and is a tea enthusiast.
Senior Tutor
Lucas Kim
Lucas loves being a little "devious" and "outgoing". He plays both the piano and cello, and also competes in swimming competitions and coaches others at the local pool.
Senior Tutor
Kenneth Liu
Kenneth Liu has been playing piano since he was 5, winning numerous piano competitions, being an alternate for the MTNA junior piano competition, and performing at the Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall).
Collaborator - Florida
Jonathan Hus
I am a dual neuroscience and music concentrator at Brown University on the pre-med path. I am passionate about piano, medicine, positively serving and impacting my community, and exploring neuroscience research. Music has always been a large and essential part of my life and I am guided by a mission to extrapolate my research within neuroscience to advance music as a healing modality in evidence based medical care.
Collaborator - United Kingdom
Belinda Chen
Belinda, a London-based high school student at Seven Oaks Academy, has brought Melodies as Medicine to both her local community and her boarding community at Seven Oaks. She regularly visits nearby senior centers to share the joy of musical healing and free copies of MM's original CDs.