Our piano was delivered this week - two average-sized guys, a fancy dolly, and a truck with a lift made it possible. I think the lift is really crucial for a smooth move. The piano was mostly in surprisingly good tune for an instrument that spent several weeks riding around who-knows-where on a truck and sitting on its side in warehouses. The company is Modern Piano Moving out of Missouri and their trucks make big loops around the eastern states picking up and delivering pianos several weeks later. Each team delivers from 7 to 10 instruments a day. They also a have a giant logo on the side of their truck that looks like a very long piano with wheels, sort of like a drag racer.
Now, back to our public radio station. I think that what I've been enjoying about it so much during this time of transition is the affirmation of the canon of music that I love and have devoted a lot of time to here in a new place for me. It provides some consistency and resonates with my childhood revelation that, to some extent, music is my family. The fact that this music has stood the test of time, a fact with which I am very familiar and have heard time and again, is now ringing true in my own experience. It is okay and probably very good to be devoted to a canon since it is an inherent aspect of the nature of a canon that the preserved material has been found to be of value by generations. You can trust the music to be strong, dependable, even powerful.
Another thing that has brought me peace during this move, and something that has been pretty much a spiritual bottom-line for me, is the sense of calling to this place, this work, this home, and so forth. When I wake up and am surprised that I am living in Florida, I just remind myself that it's fine because I was called to make this move. When I'm out walking and am tempted to covet someone else's house, I remind myself that everything happened in such a way with our house as you let us know that we are in the house we are suppose to be in. And when I wonder what I should be playing and where, I can look for a sense of calling to repertoire and events, and all will be well.
It occurs to me that the concept of calling, which is so important to many of us, is rarely explored in our popular culture.
Finally, on a really different note, as I was eating an orange a few mornings ago (an orange grown near here, I think, but packaged in New Jersey for some reason) our lovely wooden wind chime, made by disabled veterans and bearing the single word "peace," fell from the ceiling to the floor. I wonder what that means!?
Showing posts with label piano mover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piano mover. Show all posts
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christmas Images
Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming -
beautiful roses blooming in our yard on December first.
New use for a piano -
storage of musical Christmas ornaments at the Smithfield Christmas Store.
For Lasker Christmas pictures with music click here.
beautiful roses blooming in our yard on December first.
New use for a piano -
storage of musical Christmas ornaments at the Smithfield Christmas Store.
For Lasker Christmas pictures with music click here.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Great Grotrian
Yesterday was an historic day for all things piano at Chowan. This summer we have really been blessed by the incredible generosity of donors and administrators with an interest in music. One of the superb additions to our instruments they made possible came in the form of a Grotrian concert grand that was delivered yesterday by Famous Jerry of Disputanta, VA. Famous Jerry and his men were a model of teamwork with each one responding quickly to Jerry's expert directions and noone ever whimping out at a crucial moment.
Grotrian is a great old German piano company that makes instruments with a beautiful sweet sound that are incredibly responsive to the pianist's touch. for more on Grotrian, click here.
The moving process was amazing.
First, ramps were placed on the steps of Macdowell Columns building. The top ramp was secured around two of the columns to keep it securely in place as 1000 plus pounds rolled over it. The men doing the moving were by no means huge, but no doubt they were very strong. The one mover who was noticebly muscular was always at the heavy and bottom end whenever a piano was on a ramp.
As the piano made its way onto the Turner stage, those of us watching were moved by the athleticism and stunning nature of an 1100 pound piano moving so quickly (you can't let the momentum be lost on the way up the ramp!) and the sense of that massive object, being piloted by flesh and bone, in a moment of near flight moving from up-ramp to down-ramp as it cleared the lip of the stage.
Next came a bit of down time as the legs and pedals of the Grotrian were put back on and the legs and pedals of the Baldwin were taken off. There was a poignancy about those two giants meeting for a few moments this one and only time on the stage of Turner.
There was yet more poignancy as the Baldwin awaited its voyage from the hallowed halls of Columns to Daniel Recital Hall.
Next came intensity as the movers threaded the Baldwin through entryway of Daniel recital hall, the setting emphasizing the mass of the instrument as it was lifted and balanced at the top of the steps before rolling down into the hall. This Balwin is the heaviest model of piano made in the U.S., weighing in around 1300 pounds.
At the end, a little more lifting to put the Baldwin back in operable order -
After everything was back in place and the movers had left, Kathy I went to the halls to try out the instruments in their new homes. I was delighted to find that things are even better than I anticipated!
The beautiful and sweet sound of the Grotrian transforms what was a decent recital space into something that emphasizes the elegance of live classical music performance. While the instrument has plenty of power and projects with rare clarity, it doesn't reward aggressiveness. Instead, it encourages the pianist who listens to play lyrically and melodically.
In Daniel, the Baldwin demonstrates much more character than we knew it had in Turner. That's a real delight because it makes the room a much more rewarding recital space and will give our students much more to work with on their weekly recitals. Also, the old and new Baldwins are particularly well-matched as two-piano instruments.
Grotrian is a great old German piano company that makes instruments with a beautiful sweet sound that are incredibly responsive to the pianist's touch. for more on Grotrian, click here.
The moving process was amazing.
First, ramps were placed on the steps of Macdowell Columns building. The top ramp was secured around two of the columns to keep it securely in place as 1000 plus pounds rolled over it. The men doing the moving were by no means huge, but no doubt they were very strong. The one mover who was noticebly muscular was always at the heavy and bottom end whenever a piano was on a ramp.
As the piano made its way onto the Turner stage, those of us watching were moved by the athleticism and stunning nature of an 1100 pound piano moving so quickly (you can't let the momentum be lost on the way up the ramp!) and the sense of that massive object, being piloted by flesh and bone, in a moment of near flight moving from up-ramp to down-ramp as it cleared the lip of the stage.
Next came a bit of down time as the legs and pedals of the Grotrian were put back on and the legs and pedals of the Baldwin were taken off. There was a poignancy about those two giants meeting for a few moments this one and only time on the stage of Turner.
There was yet more poignancy as the Baldwin awaited its voyage from the hallowed halls of Columns to Daniel Recital Hall.
Next came intensity as the movers threaded the Baldwin through entryway of Daniel recital hall, the setting emphasizing the mass of the instrument as it was lifted and balanced at the top of the steps before rolling down into the hall. This Balwin is the heaviest model of piano made in the U.S., weighing in around 1300 pounds.
At the end, a little more lifting to put the Baldwin back in operable order -
After everything was back in place and the movers had left, Kathy I went to the halls to try out the instruments in their new homes. I was delighted to find that things are even better than I anticipated!
The beautiful and sweet sound of the Grotrian transforms what was a decent recital space into something that emphasizes the elegance of live classical music performance. While the instrument has plenty of power and projects with rare clarity, it doesn't reward aggressiveness. Instead, it encourages the pianist who listens to play lyrically and melodically.
In Daniel, the Baldwin demonstrates much more character than we knew it had in Turner. That's a real delight because it makes the room a much more rewarding recital space and will give our students much more to work with on their weekly recitals. Also, the old and new Baldwins are particularly well-matched as two-piano instruments.
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