PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. —

A University of Missouri-Kansas City piano student has a group of what some may consider nontraditional roommates.

Naren Palomino Pardo, a piano major at UMKC, shares a roof, and his love of music, with older adults at Claridge Court, a Prairie Village senior living community. Advertisement

Palomino Pardo, 31, gets free room and board and meals for a year in exchange for one concert a month.

But he goes above and beyond that, playing almost every day to a loving and appreciative audience.

“I was sitting right up close to him playing; I can hardly breathe when I think about it now,” said Bev Wharton, a resident at Claridge Court.

This is the third year that the senior living community has partnered with UMKC to house a performing arts student.

Palomino Pardo

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