Central choir surprised with new grand piano

By Jazmine Knight

The first day of school is usually full of surprises, but choir students at Central High School received one that was particularly grand.

Central High School’s choir program was surprised with a grand piano as they entered class Wednesday. The school purchased a Yamaha CX3 grand piano. This comes after the April 2 bond election, where $3.2 million was designated to updating fine arts programs across the district. This includes some new instruments for band, orchestra and choir.

Originally, the choir used an electric keyboard, but now with the new grand piano, students are already looking forward to the sound improvement.

“I think that can help with, like, intonation, just like helping us sing together and more in tune,” said Ash Wise, senior choir student. “(I was) pretty excited. I didn’t know we were getting one till today, so it’s definitely a big surprise.”

Piano accompanist Kathy Weeks said they researched high and low to find the perfect piano.

“We talked to a lot of other teachers and other schools around. We also did some of our own research of just reading online, the durability of pianos and what would be good for our situation,” Weeks said.

Eventually, they settled on a Yamaha and they traveled down to Kansas City to test all the different models and sizes.

Weeks is extremely excited to finally have a grand piano.

“It’s Christmas Day,” she said. “To be able to play this every single day. It’s a blessing.”

Not only does the new piano sound better, but it also has great educational benefits as well.

“A grand piano has a resonance and a distinct sound that the kids will be able to work on their intonation and the timbre of their voice,” Weeks said.

In terms of playing capabilities, Weeks said the grand piano is phenomenal compared to the digital piano. She looks forward to playing it every day for the students as she watches their choir improve.