>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Eastern student Yukiko Fujii plays EOU's new grand piano acquired through the Piano Project. (The Observer/PHIL BULLOCK).

By Jeff Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

What once was a motley assortment of piano-shaped objects at the Eastern music school is now a glowing testament to what can be done with a dream and determination.

The Eastern Piano Project, which The Observer's Holiday Music Festival raises funds for each year, has three phases. The first phase began in 1999 and now is nearing completion.

Four years ago the music department — actually the Eastern Oregon University Foundation — purchased a grand piano for Loso 123, known as the choir room, and five upright pianos for student practice rooms.

All the pianos are Bostons, a subsidiary of Steinway, the brand used by most concert artists.

Total cost of the pianos plus benches, other accessories and delivery was about $45,000, minus a trade-in value of pianos on hand at about $6,600.

Some of those pianos were no great shakes.

"Before, some of the pianos were more an annoyance to play than an assistance (to learning)," said music professor Peter Wordelman.

The net price for the first phase of the piano project came in at just under $39,000.

The EOU music department is now almost through paying back the loan. This weekend's concerts plus a Matt Cooper recital in early January should just about retire the debt.

Phase two, coming soon, involves putting new pianos in the teaching studios. The piano in Peter Wordelman's office, for example, is almost 100 years old, having survived two world wars, the Great Depression, Vietnam, a moon landing and enough wear and tear to leave grooves. La Grande's most frequent accompanist, Marilyn Muller, learned to play on this instrument.

Phase three is buying a concert grand to replace the Baldwin that's now about 40 years old.

"How many people drive cars that are 40 years old?" asks Cooper, EOU music professor specializing in piano and jazz. A look out the Loso Hall window provides the answer: Not many.

Pianos can last a long time, Cooper allows, but under the kind of hard use they get at a university 30 to 35 years is pretty much a full life span.

Eastern preferred purchasing the pianos over leasing. Many universities have gone to leasing for a year, putting the used ones up for auction and getting new ones, but in the end the schools have no equity. And they are at the whims of the leasing company suddenly ending the program.

Pianos are a good investment, Cooper contends. In fact, for the first years Steinway products, like the Eastern pianos, actually appreciate in value.

While Eastern is still not the Taj Mahal of pianos, it does compare favorably with many other universities.

"When students and parents visit, we can show the pianos off" as one more reason to choose EOU to launch a music career, Cooper says.

The piano project's success has been made possible by a lot of hard work. All proceeds from The Observer's Holiday Music Festival since 1999, and all proceeds from faculty recitals, have been dedicated to the Eastern Piano Project.

The current investment should pay dividends for decades down the road, Cooper says.

"When you buy a good instrument, it's worth keeping for years," he says. "It stands the test of time."