Loaned piano provides grand stage in Student Innovation Center

A little summer rearranging by the music and theatre department led to quite the addition to the Student Innovation Center. The central stepatorium has been a popular gathering place since the center opened, and now tucked beneath it is a baby grand piano on long-term loan.

Pianists of any caliber are welcome to play the impressive instrument, and passersby are invited to take a few moments to enjoy those efforts. A sign on the piano asks that it not be played during events in the space.

"I am just excited that an instrument that has been with the university for such a long time -- I believe it was one of the original Steinways purchased when Music Hall opened in 1980 -- is able to stay on campus," said music and theatre department chair Brad Dell. "Steinways are the top of the line, and this instrument was used for a long time in our chamber music room by students and faculty."

Dell said the department -- which has 58 pianos – also has one in the lobby of Simon Estes Music Hall, showing the importance of providing musical opportunities across campus.

"It is pretty wonderful to be able to fill our buildings with live music at the drop of a hat," he said. "What a special thing to have at Iowa State."

The baby grand was moved from Estes Hall this summer.

Concerts at the center

Associate professor of piano Mei-Hsuan Huang asked four students in her piano studio course to perform a lunch concert on an upright piano at the center last spring and plans to hold at least one each semester this year. Students, who come from majors from across campus, must audition and be accepted into the piano studio.

"The students' pieces of music are so challenging they deserve a better piano to play, and from the listener's point of view it just sounds better and is more like a live concert," she said of the Steinway baby grand.

Huang said having students play in a new venue allows them to deal with nerves -- especially in an area with unfamiliar faces and people freely moving around -- and practice music selections for competitions.

Because anyone can sit down and play, the piano is a great outlet for musicians who may have played in their youth but rarely get to now, or for those who play occasionally in their community or place of worship, she added.

Student Innovation Center senior manager Dani Orris said some early concerns about music in a study space have eased. 

"I find that we are just as full on the stepatorium and in the multipurpose space because people enjoy the music," she said. "A lot of our spaces are shared-use spaces so there is a community approach to the building. We want to bring as many people as we can to the Student Innovation Center, and adding that musical element has been very fun."

Fast fingers

A little bit of luck helped upgrade the center's piano.

"This is an instrument we no longer had space for and we didn’t have a great storage space for," Dell said. "Instead of talking with asset recovery about selling it, we reached out to both the Student Innovation Center and the Memorial Union to see if they were interested in it."

Cue Student Innovation Center director Jim Oliver's fast-typing fingers. Dell said a response hit in his mailbox less than a minute after he sent the email.

"Jim popped his head in my office and said, 'Did you just see what I saw?'" Orris said. "Ever since we got the upright piano we had talked about how great it would be if someday we got a really nice piano. Then it happened."