The Steinway and Sons Spirio piano shines in the sunlight that pours through the windows of the M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center. And the piano’s melodies fill the air with calm and happiness.

“I just came out of a very hard medical appointment,” one patient told the clinic staff. “When I came out of the elevator and heard the piano, I felt my whole body relax, and I was able to smile.”

A gift from Tom and Meredith Olson, the player piano is dedicated to Tom’s father, Glendon K. Olson, a U alumnus and talented pianist who played swing and jazz music for decades. 

After his family life got in the way of night gigs with his bands, Glen Olson looked for public places—malls, park bandshells, you name it—where he could just sit down and let his music brighten someone’s day.

“Dad would have been the kind of person who would have come here [to the Clinics and Surgery Center] and said, ‘You know, I’d like to spend a couple of hours playing this piano,’” says Tom Olson. “And in a sense, he will be.”