Replacement Sax Hits Right Notes For Young Musician

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A really bad situation turned really good for 17-year-old Isaiah Collier.

Months ago, we told you the ChiArts senior had his saxophone was stolen, his ticket to college. But since out story aired generosity came knocking on his door.

CBS 2's Audrina Bigos has the story.

It's the sweet sound of victory, but not a battle won on his own. After nearly four months of hoping his stolen sax would turn up at a local pawn shop, Isaiah Collier got an unexpected call from Ken Partyka offering him an exact working replica of his old sax.

The replica, worth upwards of $5,000 came at no cost thanks to Cannonball, the company that makes it.

"Just thinking why?" Collier said. "There's other people in this city that have all these other things that they need but just for people to be bothered with you would think just this scrap of metal."

But that scrap is his ticket to college and luckily, it looks the exact same with the same sound as his stolen one, what he called a one of kind.

So, now it's crunch time as college auditions start next week. He's already passed pre-screenings at his top five schools across the country, thanks to talent and generosity.

"So many people got involved you know because talent is talent and you want to support that," said Partyka.

"I'm really happy that somebody saw me as a gift because I feel like I'm presenting something to the world," Collier said.

Since our story aired back in October, more than $5,000 was donated to Isaiah online. He bought a sax with that money, but then got his big phone call the next day.