Walk through the double doors of the Morro Road Education Center and the first thing you’ll see is classroom 108B, a larger room that houses four pianos in varying stages of disassembly.
Piano technician Rhonda Carmen sat beside a white piano on a recent weekday, with an orange microfiber cloth in one hand and cleaning solution in the other, painstakingly scrubbing every crevice.
This is where Brian Alhadeff, Opera SLO‘s artistic and general director, runs a special program called the Nationwide Fine Piano Donation Program, which started in 2020 as a way to raise money for Opera SLO during the pandemic.
“When COVID hit, we lost all of our ability to produce anything, including fundraisers, operas, musicals, galas, educational outreach—the best we could do is we received a few grants for doing video work, which everybody was doing. But we needed something to keep us afloat,” Alhadeff said. “We had a few pianos that were already in inventory, they were donated, and they were good pianos. And I put them up for sale, and boom, they just sold instantly.”
Anyone looking to sell a piano can contact him, and he’ll take a look at the piano and provide an estimate of how much the piano will be worth. Depending on the client’s financial situation, the donor could get a tax deduction. The price of each piano depends on various factors, including the condition, any unusual details, and color, according to Alhadeff.
Once the price gets calculated, Alhadeff takes the piano, refurbishes it, and resells it to the next willing buyer.
Before you jump on the phone to donate your piano to Opera SLO, just know that all pianos are not created equally. Pianos must meet certain criteria before Alhadeff can take them.
“We usually don’t take Spinet pianos over 50 years [old] or consoles. We’ll start to take studio and professional uprights. However, we do make exceptions for top brands such as Yamaha, Kawai, Young Chang, Baldwin, and Steinway,” Alhadeff said.
If your piano is eligible for donation, then Opera SLO can pick it up.
Once the piano makes it into classroom 108B, it goes through a transformation in the hands of Alhadeff and Carmen.
“So we vacuum clean the exterior, we polish all the brass. We reassemble the hinges, reassemble the piano, and stain the piano in most cases. And then of course, disposal and cleanup. It’s kind of a fun little process,” Alhadeff said.
Refurbishing pianos can be arduous. For a novice like Carmen, who has only fixed up six pianos, simply polishing the piano could take up to five hours. But, she said, it’s all about the process.
“Well, I like that they can be shined up. Since cleaning is kind of in my blood, my favorite part is the final product, looking at the before and after picture. That’s my favorite part. The metamorphosis,” Carmen said.
Alhadeff says that it costs him anywhere from $150 to $250 to fix a piano, and finding people who want to donate pianos isn’t easy. Currently, Alhadeff has seven pianos in stock, but he’s open to adding more as long as space is available to support the community’s interest in the arts.
“For the community, why it’s important [is because] there’s no piano dealership within 200 mile radius of where we are right now. So we offer that niche. Secondly, for all intents and purposes, we are a liquidation. And thirdly, because we only accept fine pianos, we’re basically the only piano dealer within 200 miles and liquidating fine pianos that are usually 20 percent to 40 percent under what you’ll buy somewhere else,” Alhadeff said. “This gives the community the opportunity to own an instrument and consider embracing that hobby.”
To donate a piano or support Opera SLO, visit operaslo.org for more info.
Fast fact
• The SLO Gem & Mineral Club is hosting its Gems by the Sea show on Sept. 24 and the 25 at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial building after a two-year break due to COVID-19. The show will feature mineral specimens, rocks, fossils, slabs, cabs, faceted gems, carvings, beads, jewelry featuring gems, and more. Demonstration of lapidary crafts and activities for children will be available. Admission is $5 per person, and kids 12 and under have free admission. For additional information, visit slogem.org. Δ
Staff Writer Shwetha Sundarrajan wrote this week’s Strokes. Send tidbits to strokes@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 25 – Sep 4, 2022.