The Grand Piano has come home!

Fully-restored to its original splendor, the nine-foot Steinway grand piano, bought in 1977 by Mr. R.E. Wendland for the Cultural Activities Center, is being returned to Temple after a year-long, custom restoration at the hands of Priscilla and Joel Rappaport at their piano workshop in Austin. “Steinway concert grands that both sound and play well aren’t a dime a dozen,” remarks Rappaport. Outside Houston or San Antonio, there probably aren’t a handful of similar instruments to be found in Bell County or beyond. In a throwaway society where everything is mass-produced, likely imported from China and simply replaced when broken, this instrument is truly unique. “This piano has a soul,” says Priscilla Rappaport,” and you can restore that. That soul speaks to the public and artists will gravitate to that soul, attracting the highest quality of professional artists and programs for the CAC.” More than a restoration, the pair has completely disassembled and rebuilt the piano, repairing, replacing, and restoring as needed completely by hand. The result is a magnificent, resonating instrument. That handwork is a lost art. The Rappaorts hold masters diplomas in piano building from the Handwerkskammer, in Stuttgart, Germany. . . . Mr. Wendland’s wife, Nora Lee, was a co-founder of the Cultural Activities Center, incorporated in 1958. His gift honored her and other family members including the late Reverend and Mrs. Charles B. Godbey, and Mr. and Mrs. Erroll Wendland. The 9’ grand piano will be featured during upcoming performances presented by the Central Texas Orchestral Society at the CAC on Nov. 11 featuring 2005 Grammy winner Billy Childs appearing with the American Brass Quartet, and on Feb. 14 featuring Michelle Schumann with Brian Lewis. Tickets are available at the CAC (254) 773-9926 or online at www.cacARTS.org.