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Sean Stone came to Lincoln Trail College to play baseball. He never expected that he’d leave as a musician, too.
“I always wanted to get into music, but just never did,” Stone says. “By high school, I decided I wanted to learn piano, so I just sat down at the keyboard we had at home. I started pounding on it, and over time, it started sounding a little better.”
What began as a hobby quickly turned into a passion. Stone taught himself to play by ear, learning songs he loved simply by listening and replicating them. But even as his skills grew, he knew something was missing.
That’s where Yvonne Newlin, Lincoln Trail’s longtime piano instructor, came in.
“I’ve never had a piano student like Sean Stone,” says Newlin, who has been teaching for more than four decades. “When he talked to me about taking lessons, I figured we’d start with a beginner’s book. Then, in class, I played something for the students. Sean sat down and played it back by ear. I was floored.”
Newlin was used to students who could play by ear but had little interest in reading music. Stone was different. He wanted to learn everything he could.
“I gave him his first piece of sheet music, and he picked it up so quickly,” Newlin recalls. “I couldn’t demonstrate songs for him, because if he heard me play them, he’d just play them back by ear. So I challenged him, and he took off running.”
Stone credits Newlin with pushing him beyond what he thought he was capable of. “She taught me how to sight-read, and that changed everything,” he says. “She helped me realize that I could do more with music than just play for my own enjoyment.”
That realization came at an important time. Stone was already balancing baseball and academics, but he didn’t see his love for piano as something that could extend beyond personal fulfillment. With Newlin’s encouragement, he started to think bigger.
“It’s unusual for an athlete to have another passion outside of their sport,” Newlin says. “But with music, you’re not playing a role on a stage—you’re expressing who you are. And Sean has that rare ability to pour his emotions into what he plays.”
Stone sees music as more than just a skill; for him, it’s a deeply personal experience. “A lot of people feel closest to their faith when they’re praying,” he says. “For me, it’s when I’m playing piano. It’s one of the gifts God gave me, and I want to do something with it.”
He’s already inspiring others. Some of his baseball teammates have expressed an interest in learning music, and Stone is the first to encourage them. “I tell them, ‘Do it. You won’t regret it.’ It’s good to have something outside of baseball—something that lets you take a breath and express yourself in a different way.”
Now, as he looks ahead to transferring to a four-year university, Stone is preparing to take both of his passions—baseball and piano—with him. “I’m extremely blessed to be able to continue both,” he says. “A lot of people are lucky to have one passion in life. I have two.”
Newlin couldn’t be prouder. “Sean is a perfectionist. He works so hard at everything he does. It doesn’t seem like work to him, because he loves it. That’s what makes him special.”
For Stone, it all comes down to pursuing what makes him feel most alive. “I’ve never felt like I was juggling baseball and music,” he says. “I enjoy every bit of it.”
