There were smiles all around Sunday as Chadron State College music professor and piano instructor Dr James Margetts gave a free concert to unveil the school’s refurbished 1918 Steinway Model D Grand Piano…considered one of the top concert pianos made and the first piano purchased by the college.

Among the biggest smiles were those from music professor emeritus Dr Jackson Hammitt and his wife Peg, whose $35,000 donation was the catalyst for the restoration of the piano…which had been out of service for several years. Dr Hammitt, himself a pianist, says the result was everything he’d hoped for.

CSC hopes the refurbished piano will be a draw for touring artists to schedule stops in Chadron, but Hammitt is focused more on the college music department. “I would hope they can use it to attract more outstanding piano students; they already have an outstanding piano teacher.”

Dr Margetts says Chadron State is taking a lot of precautions to protect the Steinway from the area’s dry climate and the wear and tear of time…including its own enclosed storage area on the Memorial Hall stage and frequent checkups by piano technicians.

CSC has actually renovated 6 other Steinway pianos over the past two years, and Margetts says those will also get regular attention from technicians.

The public will get a chance to hear the 1918 Steinway and one of its cousins on April 3rd when Margetts and CSC accompanist and fellow piano instructor Brooks Hafey offer a duo-piano recital…which Margetts believes will be the first for the school in several decades.