HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The pianos at Howard W. Blake High School have seen better days, from broken strings to missing keys to stuck pedals. So this summer, a massive fundraising effort is in progress to replace them.
“So the school opened in 1998, and the pianos we are currently using every day are from 1998,” said piano teacher Matt Stemberg.
Stemberg said watching students full of ambition and talent sit behind pianos lacking basic necessities can be frustrating.
So you can imagine the reaction when students like Zion Morris were asked to tickle the ivories of a new Steinway & Sons grand piano.
“Once you get on that Steinway, you hear that sweet, bitter-sweet sound that you need, that good tone,” said Morris.
This summer, Blake High School has teamed up with the Robby Steinhardt Foundation to raise $500,000 for 17 new Steinway pianos.
“We use these pianos for collaborative music experiences as well, such as orchestra, and band, and theater, and having them would increase the quality of the performance all around,” said student Chloe Stemberg.
“To be associated with a great program like Howard W. Blake is an honor, and to see these instruments being played in their full glory on the stage, in the practice room, the teaching studio, is what they are made for,” said Jonathan Hunt with Steinway Piano Gallery Tampa Bay.
Glen Caristinos, with the Robby Steinhardt Foundation, said he picked Blake to become the first Steinway Select High School in the state after he saw a concert there 20 years ago.
“Their natural talent is beautiful, but as in any craftsman, the tools that they need, or the instruments that they use, can set them apart from anybody else,” said Caristinos.
“it would improve our skills, it would improve our practices, our performance, everything,” said student Keyla Hernandez.
Their first big fundraising event is a June 10 concert at the Friday Morning Musicale in Tampa.
For more information, go to steinway88keys.com.
