 | A key player: Director of Jazz studies Joe Parillo on the newly restored Steinway.
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Restored Steinway plays key role in monthly concertsThere will be some “grand” music this semester in the University of Rhode Island’s Memorial Union. URI’s recently restored 1916 Steinway baby grand piano serves as the centerpiece for monthly concerts in the main lounge. Held on the first Wednesday of each month, the concerts, are free and open to the public (see “Notable Dates”).
The $11,200 piano restoration effort was spearheaded by Bruce Hamilton, director of the Memorial Union, and Winifred Brownell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Hamilton had been concerned about the out-of-tune Steinway sitting out of the limelight on the Memorial Union ballroom stage; Brownell was looking for sites that music and non-music major students could practice and perform. Students, that is, who were “Steinway” worthy as determined by Joe Parillo, jazz pianist and director of jazz studies at URI.
The piano, valued at $25,000, was restored with authentic Steinway parts and was made fit as a fiddle last fall, thanks to support from the Memorial Union, the College of Arts and Sciences, the President’s Office, the Student Senate, the Union Board, the Alumni Association, and the Parents Council.
“We were delighted to help restore the Steinway so that students with exceptional keyboarding skills, regardless of their major, could have access to this exquisite instrument,” said Brownell. “Everyone will be able to enjoy the results of our collaborative efforts through the new lunchtime express concert series featuring students, faculty, and alumni who will perform on the Steinway.”
“It was well worth doing. Live music brings an added dimension to the Memorial Union and gives us a chance to showcase the wonderful talent on this campus,” said Hamilton.
The concerts are funded by the Steve Rubin and Jean Moore Fund for the Humanities and the Arts, established by Steve Rubin who graduated from URI with a degree in English in 1964 and is chair of the English Department at the University of South Florida at Tampa, and his wife, Jean Moore.
By Jan Wenzel
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