recital piano usage

[Kenneth P. Eschete]

Dear List,

Forgive me for jumping in again on this subject, but I have been away on
vacation and was happy to see such a vital discussion about a problem I
have been battling here at Northwestern University.  

One of our concert venues is a small concert hall equipped with a Steinway
D and a Yamaha C-4.  The Steinway was being used so much that it became
apparent that we could not maintain it in concert-ready condition without
restricting its use to a greater degree, so we have employed two strategies
that seem to be working:
1.  "Path of least Resistance" -- At the end of each day, the stage crew
places the Yamaha on stage which is left uncovered and unlocked.  The
Steinway is rolled off stage where it is both covered and locked.  Any
faculty or students who wish to use the Steinway the next day can get the
key and roll it out on stage, but by making the Yamaha so much easier to
use, we have succeeded in diverting some of the use.  We also regard this
as "bait" for any possible acts of valdalisim.  If someone is determined to
break into the hall to hurt a piano ..... we want to make sure it is easier
to hurt the Yamaha.

2.  "Keys Please" --  The key to the Steinway is issued to Faculty upon
request, and another key is available in the music office for students who
show a permission card.  Students are required to make all the arrangements
for their recitals at the concert activities office, and as part of this
process, they are issued a numbered permission card which allows them to
get the Steinway key.   The card is only good for a period of two weeks
before each recital and the student's ID card is held until the key is
returned.  Before this system was put in place, students were simply
telling the office personnel that they had a recital scheduled and were
getting the key months in advance of the actual date.

We switch the lock on the piano every so often, and I have been thinking
about installing a key-retaining lock.  That's the weak spot in the
system.......... Once the Steinway is unlocked for one person, it can be
left unlocked.  

Thanks for a very interesting discussion.  Nice to know I'm not alone.

Ken Eschete
Northwestern University
Evanston





Kenneth P. Eschete
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.  USA
k-eschete@nwu.edu