In September 2016 I was proud to be part of a delegated team of experts to travel down to the Steinway Factory in Astoria, Queens, NYC to select a brand new 9ft Steinway concert grand piano that would soon grace Vermont Public Radio’s new performance studio - part of a multi-million dollar addition to their existing headquarters in Colchester, Vermont.
The purchase of the piano was the result of a very generous gift to VPR from a couple who have been longtime supporters and wanted to honor their grandmothers - both of whom were concert pianists.
Making the trek with me to Steinway Place were VPR Classical Music Staff Kari Anderson, James Stewart, and concert pianists Paul Orgel and Simone Dinnerstein. We had 5 pianos from which to choose the best-suited for the performance space at VPR. We spent the afternoon there deliberating and comparing the sound qualities, touch and character of each piano. We finally decided on THIS beauty...
Several weeks later the piano was delivered with great ceremony to its new home in VPR’s brand new performance studio. This past January 20, 2017, the piano receieved it’s inaugural live performance to a packed audience and thousands of listeners all over the world as Simone Dinnerstein played a program of Phillip Glass and Franz Schubert.
I was so nervous, because I had do a last-minute concert tuning: completing it just a short time before the live broadcast, due to humidity changes in the room. VPR was still dealing with heating and humidity adjustments to their new state-of-the-art facility and, or course, the piano reacted accordingly!
But all went very well. The live audience was thrilled with Simone’s playing. giving her a much-deserved standing ovation!
Afterward everyone was treated to a short documentary about our trip to New York to pick out the Steinway. It was expertly edited by a staff member at VPR. Here’s a link to that documentary on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AaJfYKe12Yg