When students practice and perform in Union College’s Engel Recital Hall, they can now enjoy the dulcet, yet majestic tones of a Baldwin concert grand piano made possible by a generous donor.
“This is a beautiful instrument and was assessed a better piano than the one we had in the recital hall,” said Kurt Miyashiro, professor of music who specializes in instrumental music.
Miyashiro was at a piano store looking at pianos for the music department when he ran into Tom and Linda Becker, who had both recently retired from working at Union College. The couple were looking for a baby grand piano for their living room—and a home for the Baldwin concert grand Linda inherited when her mother passed away.
“This piano has so many memories,” said Linda. The instrument was a gift from her grandparents to her mother, a concert pianist, after her father died when Linda was young. “It was a way for her to cope with the death of my dad by playing music every evening. My brother and I would go to bed hearing beautiful music knowing that it came from her soul. It reminded us of the incredible love Mom and Dad had for each other.”
Linda knew the piano belonged at Union to help train young pianists. “It is my hope the music created on the piano will bring joy and peace to the hearts of listeners, encouragement and affirmation to the pianists, and that it will remain a thing of beauty in memory of Melva Wright Cummings,” she said.
The amazing educational experiences available to Union students are possible thanks to equipment and instruments gifted by generous alumni and friends.
If you want to learn more about how you can be part of that experience, please contact the Advancement Office at 402.486.2503 or
advance@ucollege.edu