Anonymous donor gives Wairarapa College grand piano

BY PIERS FULLER

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Wairarapa College now has one of the best grand pianos of any school in the country.

The $95,000 Schimmel Concert Grand is already a hit with pupils, who cannot believe they now have access to an instrument of this quality.

The piano is the perfect addition to the school's new Performing Arts Centre and could attract some of the best pianists.

The $4.5 million building is said to have good acoustics for concerts.

Karen Barbour of the special projects committee believes having a piano of this quality will put Wairarapa College on the national stage.

New Zealand's most well-known pianist Michael Houston is aware the new piano is in town.

It is likely he will make Wairarapa College a venue for a concert in the not-too-distant future.

The committee had been intending to fundraise for a period of time to get the money for the piano, when a donor came forward and offered to pay for the entire grand piano.

Head of music Ivan Patterson says they were flabbergasted by the generosity of the donor and they are ecstatic that they now have such an amazing asset for their students.

He describes the piano as an absolutely stunning example of the highest possible quality.

"There's nothing cheap about it.

"I know of no other high school with a comparable piano," he says.

Although the piano will be well-looked after, students will have access to it if they are serious about their piano playing.

"We are not going to let the first XV jump on it after practice, but it is there to be used," he says.

The concert grand was bought from the Piano House in Wellington.

The donor is a Masterton businessman and an old boy of Wairarapa College but wishes to remain anonymous.

The GST refund on the instrument will also cover the cost of about ten electronic keyboards that can be used by the music department, so the generosity has reached even further than the concert grand piano.

- Wairarapa News