     
|
Tuesday December 3rd, 2002
Baldwin makes first annual piano donation to East Nashville arts center
Baldwin Piano will kick off a new era in the keyboard business by dropping an old piano from a helicopter and donating a new Baldwin to the East Nashville Center for the Creative Arts. As part of the grand opening celebration of the Worlds Largest Piano Store in downtown Nashville, Baldwin has announced an annual piano donation to a Nashville music education program.
"One facet of the new era symbolized by the piano drop is our strong support of music education," said Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar, Baldwins parent company. "Were proud to help the East Nashville Center for the Creative Arts in their important efforts to provide cultural education to the community."
"More than just an expression of Gibson/Baldwins generosity, this piano will serve as proof of the companys commitment to accessible, high quality arts education for every child in the Nashville community," said Christopher Donohue, director of the ENCCA. "I know that our young students, faculty and guest performers will be truly inspired by playing such a fine instrument, as will every audience member with whom they share their music."
The East Nashville Center for the Creative Arts is a not-for-profit community arts school and performance venue located in historic East Nashville, central to the neighborhoods of Edgefield, Lockeland Springs, Eastwood, and Inglewood. The ENCCA Music Program offers individual instruction as well as weekly music theory classes and ensemble workshops.
The piano drop, scheduled today, December 3 at 6 p.m., marks the opening of two new facilities in downtown Nashville. The piano store, officially the Baldwin Nashville Showcase, will house as many as 200 pianos in a 24,000 square-foot-building at the corner of Grundy St. and 11th Ave. The store also features the D.H. Baldwin Academy for musical instruction, a childrens play area and a full off-Broadway stage.
The Gibson Valley Arts building, located on the opposite corner of the same block (fronting Church St.), is the new home of renowned Valley Arts guitars, along with a retail store and Gibsons warranty and repair operation. Juszkiewicz has christened the block between Grundy St. and Church St. "Music Makers Row," because of its proximity to Music Row, the heart of Nashvilles music business.
Valley Arts was founded as a full-line music store in Los Angeles and became the store for professional musicians, with world renowned luthiers and craftsmen tending to instruments. The business expanded to Germany and Japan and introduced its own brand of bolt-neck, custom-made guitars. Gibson recently acquired Valley Arts from its two founders, both of whom are longtime Gibson employees.
Baldwin was founded by former music teacher D.H. Baldwin in Cincinnati, and to the best of the companys knowledge, the Dec. 3 grand opening coincides with the exact date of the companys founding in 1862. Baldwin was acquired by Gibson in Nov. 2001.
