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G
r a n d . P
i a n o
W hen
the Clarksburg Community Concert
Association was active in Clarksburg,
every time the association chose
a pianist for a concert, we had
to borrow a grand piano from Salem
College in Salem, WV, or from
a local music store for the performance.
This became more and more of a
problem because of the transportation
required and because the piano
could not always be available
to us when needed. So, in 1978,
the Clarksburg-Harrison Cultural
Foundation Board decided that
we needed to purchase a quality
piano for our needs.
To raise the necessary funds for
the purchase, Ulysses Buffington
got a grant from the WV Arts Council
(now defunct) to bring the WVU
Percussion Ensemble to Clarksburg
for a fund-raising performance.
Madge Douds, manager of the Robinson
Grand Theatre, provided the theatre
free of charge. Under Helen Buffington’s
charge, several Bridgeport and
Clarksburg women solicited sponsors
for the project. Roger Frome and
Stone and Thomas Department Store
made the initial contribution
of $500.00 and many other contributors
made generous donations to the
“piano fund.” Eventually,
the Clarksburg Community Concert
Association took over to finalize
the completion of the cost of
the concert grand piano.
The committee chosen to select
a piano chose the Steinway Company.
Steinway built 3 pianos for our
consideration and we asked Phyllis
Curtin, the esteemed American
soprano, opera star and teacher,
to make the selection. Ms. Curtin
was born in Clarksburg and became
a distinguished international
star on the concert and operatic
stage. She made her operatic debut
as Lisa in the Queen of Spades
with the New England Opera Theatre
in Boston. Her recital debut followed
in 1950 at New York’s Town
Hall. Her tours as a soloist with
orchestras and as a recitalist
took her all over the globe until
her retirement in 1984. Ms. Curtin,
along with her accompanist went
to the Steinway Showroom in New
York to make the final selection
and our concert grand was shipped
to Clarksburg in 1978.
The following year, the Clarksburg
Community Concert Association
brought Ms. Lili Kraus, an internationally
known Hungarian pianist, for a
concert performance in Clarksburg
on the new Steinway that we could
now call our own. Ms. Kraus was
delighted with the instrument
and told the audience that it
was one of the finest instruments
she had ever performed on. She
also remarked that the acoustics
in the Robinson Grand Theatre
were exceptionally fine and that
we were a fortunate community
to have such a great instrument
and such a fine theatre in which
to perform.
The piano is currently housed
in the Waldomore Mansion adjacent
to the Clarksburg Public Library
and is maintained by the Clarksburg-Harrison
Cultural Foundation. With permission
of the Board of the Foundation,
the piano is available to local
piano teachers for recitals. This
provides a great opportunity for
young pianists to experience performing
on such a grand instrument.
(by Olga Hardman with input from:
Ulysses Buffington, Bill Lear,
and Jack Skinner, all Cultural
Foundation Board Members when
the piano was purchased.) |
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