We did it!!!
We did it!!! We have secured $16235.74 in pledged giving to restore our piano for the future. Thank you Zion Lutheran Church and users of the Common Room for being so generous, and for investing in beauty and community music for decades to come.
Next steps: John Fish, certified piano technician, will come to remove the interior ‘action’ from the piano on Thursday, September 12. On this day we will also receive a piano on loan from Berkshire Music School, which we will use until our piano returns in later October in restored condition. All donors will then be invited to a recital and reception featuring our newly restored piano.
If you have given a pledge but have not yet made your gift, please do so by September 1 if possible, or contact Pastor Joel if this schedule does not meet your needs.
Background on the Piano Restoration Campaign:
The need: The piano in the Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church is more than a church instrument – it’s a community resource. At least 25 unique community groups have made music in the Common Room over the past year and a half, forging connections and uplifting spirits. With this heavy use, and at 51 years old, our piano is beginning to wear and become unreliable. To ensure strong music that builds community into the future, we are restoring our piano, and we’re asking for your support.
The work: Full replacement of all the ‘action’ parts of the piano (hammers, whippons, felts, dampers, shanks, and flanges), the proper regulation of all the new parts, and the installation of a humidity control system. The work will be done in September and October by John Fish.
The impact: The work will make a ‘concert-ready piano,’ perhaps the only publicly accessible one in the city of Pittsfield. Most importantly, it will result in an instrument with a clear, confident, and beautiful sound ready to support community music in Pittsfield into the future. In addition, all donors will be invited to a recital upon completion of the work.
The cost: A $14,500 investment in the piano restores it for decades to come. Any money we raise over this amount will be held for future repairs and work.