Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Restore Andrea The Piano!!


 
She's talkin' about me!
She's talkin' about me!
My pianist owner is talkin' about me, Andrea The Piano!

The complete text of what she says is below!

Or,  
you can just click here 
and Donate To My Restoration Project Now!

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I’d like to introduce you all to
Andrea The Piano.

Andrea is an antique Steinway & Sons
square grand piano.
dated at 1872,
making her 143 years old.
She was crafted in New York
by the most skilled of old world artisans

Andrea the Piano is made of Brazilian rosewood.
Because it is endangered
import & export of rosewood,
either as lumber or as a finished product,
is prohibited
from most countries in the world
including the Unites States.

As such,
Andrea The Piano
is an American made beauty
that will never leave the United States of America.       
                                   
This piano has many hand carved features,
such as the legs, music rack and pedal.
She also features hand stenciling inside.

And while we have no documented proof of this,
we firmly believe that Henry Steinway himself
chose the wood that would later become Andrea The Piano.
It takes a full year to craft a Steinway Piano,
but before that,
it takes 2 years to dry and prepare the wood.
Andrea the Piano is dated at 1872,                   
which means artisans started crafting her in 1871.
But the wood for this magnificent piano
would have been chosen in 1869
to being the 2 year preparation process.
Henry Steinway died in 1871.
So then,
it is altogether possible
that he chose the wood himself
for Andrea The Piano
though he would not live to see the finished piano.

Andrea The Piano
is one of many instruments
in The Little Piano House,
located in the beautiful city
of Wyandotte, MI.
This little house
is a music, art & piano studio.
There are actually 2 artists
that utilize studio space
in the Little piano house,
one whose artwork is featured in River's Edge Gallery
in the beautiful city of Wyandotte, MI
And of course,
Students arrive to learn the art of piano.

And so,
Andrea The Piano is housed
with several pieces of artwork,
with several electronic instruments
and a few antique reed organs.

This is NOT a piano
behind glass or a red velvet ribbon
in a museum with a
“do not touch” sign.
On the contrary,
we welcome pianists,
young and old
to enjoy this magnificent piano.

This piano is need of much restoration work
and we ask for your help and support
to bring her back to full glory.
There aren’t many qualified and trained
to do the all the work needed.
Indeed, just to bring her to The Little House
required piano movers knowledgeable
about such Victorian era instruments.
As such,
a full restoration will be quite costly.
She will need to travel out of state
to have complete restoration work done.

Just to give you an idea
of how much detail is required. . .

Did you know that each key on a piano
has over 50 pieces?

Multiply that by 88 keys
and we are speaking of well over 4,000 parts
that must be restored, repaired, or replaced.
And that is just for the piano keys alone.

Who am I?
My name is Rubi
and I am one of the owners of Andrea The Piano
and of the little house
that houses Andrea.

I am no stranger to music
in Metro Detroit and Downriver.
I’ve been working in church music ministry for years.
Perhaps you’ve been a member
of one of the many children’s choirs I’ve directed over the years.
Or maybe you were a member of one of the adult choirs
that participated in special events,
like this group that had the opportunity
to sing in Mexico City.
Perhaps I was the musician for your wedding
or your child’s first communion.
Perhaps you had me as a piano teacher
in Detroit
at COMPAS Center of music & performing arts
or at Garage Cultural / The Cultural Garage,
Or maybe even at the Little House.

Maybe it’s because I’ve accompanied you as a musician
during life’s special moments.
Maybe it’s because you have a love for music.
Maybe it’s because you treasure antiques.
Maybe it’s because you appreciate works of art.
Maybe it’s because you live in or near Wyandotte, MI
and would love to help in a local project.
Maybe you’re one of Andrea’s Twitter followers
have enjoyed her wit, humor, and wisdom.

Whatever the reason
I’m asking you to help us
Restore Andrea.