Chadron State College unveils its refurbished 1918 Steinway Grand Piano Sunday afternoon at 3:00 with a free concert in Memorial Hall by music professor and pianist Dr James Margetts.
Refurbishing of the Model D…the largest concert grand made by Steinway and believed to be the first piano purchased by the school…began in late 2010 with the hope of having it ready for concert use during Chadron State’s Centennial celebration in 2011.
Margetts says a number of factors delayed the project and missed the centennial, but he couldn’t be more excited about the result of the work and being able to let the world hear the restored piano sound the way it was intended.
“The most exciting thing was to actually sit down and play the piano,” he says. “It’s absolutely beautiful (and) makes all the other pianos (at Chadron State) pale by comparison.”
For the concert, Margetts selected works that show some of the changes in piano music that occurred over the first 200 years of the instrument from composers who had significant milestones around the time CSC opened in 1911.
One piece was written by Maurice Ravel in 1909…the year that marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn…while American composer Samuel Barber was born in 1910 while the world celebrated the centennial of the birth of Frederic Chopin.
Dr Margetts says the refurbished Steinway will be a great asset for the CSC music program…providing a quality instructional tool and an enticement for touring artists who require similar instruments before agreeing to come and perform in a city.
Chadron State professor emeritus Dr Jackson Hammitt, the school’s long-time piano instructor, and his wife Peg donated $35,000 for the renovation project and kept close tabs on throughout the 2-plus years. Dr Hammitt says a similar new piano would cost $100,000 and probably wouldn’t be as good.
The Hammitts…who also made a long-term million dollar donation to the college…will be honored at a reception following the concert. Dr Margetts says the couple are a great example of the type of people who love and give to Chadron State.
For those unable to attend Sunday’s concert, it will be streamed live on the college website www.csc.edu/live.