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At School of Music, pianos saved, pianos mourned

Steve Carver, who has spent 24 years as a piano technician for the UI Voxman Music Building and Hancher Auditorium, not only lost several pianos due to water damage from the flood, but years of memories as well.

	Pianos line a second-floor hallway in Voxman Music Building. Photo by Tim Schoon.

“It is tragic,” Carver says. “Those pianos were our friends. Pianos are more than just a piano; they are a companion.”

When School of Music staff received information of potential flooding of the building, piano movers from the opera scene shop helped move all “A-list” (new ones or recently restored) pianos off campus, as well as 20 to 25 pianos, weighing 600 to 1,000 pounds each, to the second floor using a freight elevator.

According to Carver, piano moving is never easy; however, it is not as difficult as people imagine. They do not use any machines for moving—just “brains and a little grunting.”

A group of students helped move faculty office equipment and several of the band and choral music libraries. Carver noted a great sense of fellowship and unity between virtually everyone in the building during the move.

On Friday, June 13, the river broke over the levee on the east side of the building, prohibiting staff from entering.

“I think a lot of us have spent a lot of our lives in this building,” Carver said. “This kind of assault on the facility, one that you could do nothing about, left a feeling of helplessness.”

Flooding levels are evident on the front of this organ in Voxman Music Building. Photo by Tim Schoon.

At least seven Steinway grand pianos, fifteen Steinway upright pianos, two harpsichords, several practice type organs, and a Baroque organ could not be moved and sustained some damage, according to Carver.

“It would be like putting your grandma’s rocking chair in 3 feet of water,” Carver said.

Although the water is receding, overall damage to the Voxman Music Building has yet to be assessed. UI administrators have started discussing whether classes normally held in the music building will have to be relocated this fall.

Voxman Music Building is home to more than 450 UI music majors and has more than 50 teaching studios, 73 practice rooms, a comprehensive music library, three electronic music studios, ear training and listening facilities, four large rehearsal halls, professional recording studios, and the 700-seat Clapp Recital Hall. If classes are relocated, Carver says it will be quite a challenge.

After Voxman Music Building was locked down, Carver left that day for Massachusetts to work as a piano technician for the Boston Symphony over the summer. He will do piano damage assessment when he returns in late August. Carver is optimistic that the pieces moved to the second floor have not sustained permanent damage.

Carver says the cost to replace a Steinway grand piano is between $50,000 to $100,000, while the replacement of an upright piano is between $6,000 and $9,000.

by Aly Dolan

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