Piano teachers work to provide gift

MOSES LAKE - Marina Munter and Harriet West think the new Moses Lake Civic Center auditorium will need something a little grand.

So the members of Moses Lake's chapter of the Washington State Music Teacher's Association (WSMTA) have begun fund-raising to install a brand-new, $30,000 grand piano in the yet-to-be-built Moses Lake Civic Center.

"It is a joy for anybody to play a nice grand piano," says Grand Piano Project committee chair Harriet West.

"I think this will benefit the community," says Moses Lake WSMTA president Marina Munter, "This will make music more available to all different groups of people."

Although construction on the Civic Center hasn't started, the teachers began planning to purchase a grand piano in 2006 after reading an article that a new facility with an auditorium would be built in Moses Lake.

"There were a few years where nothing seemed to be going on for the facility." West says. "Then six months ago I was talking with one of the piano dads who said ground was breaking, it was going to happen. Then we got serious."

Teachers and students have come up with $5,000 so far through raffles, calendar sales and other fund-raisers.

Piano students sold 298 calendars while teachers are still busy selling raffle tickets for a hand-made quilt titled "Grand Rhapsody" made by Shawlene Martin and Lynda Williams with help from Cheryl Walker and Gail Earl.

West says teachers will continue selling tickets throughout the year with the final drawing in June 2011 during the state music teacher's conference in Pasco, Washington. 

The multicolored mosaic quilt is currently on display around town.

Munter and West have met with city officials.

"They want to make this happen," says West, of Moses Lake city administrators involved in the center.

"Bob Hull is involved with the planning and he talked about making changes to better fit a grand piano, such as increasing the depth of the stage," West says.

"I can't think of anything better than sharing our passion for music," says West.

West began playing piano when she was six years old and has been a piano teacher for forty years. West says she most enjoys giving lessons to her 11 grandchildren.

"My life is really very filled with music," West says. "I never intended to teach piano, but somehow that's how it worked out and I feel certain that's what I should be doing."

Munter is also a life-long piano player and began when she was seven years old.

After growing up in Estonia and attending Russian music school, Munter came to the US in 1995 and continued teaching.

A former student from Estonia invited Munter to Moses Lake and she "just felt that this was home."

Soon Munter learned English and took up playing piano at an area church.

"I spent two days a week learning English musical terms and how to speak English," Munter says. "It was very difficult."

Munter says churches have been instrumental in allowing students to practice and hold recitals.

"Typically we have to rent the high school theater, Wallenstien Theater or ask churches to use their pianos," Munter says.

West and Munter both commented on the difficulty of finding venues for honor recitals, competitions, master classes and other events piano students participate in as part of their education.

"We are so excited about having the piano in this facility," West says. "The community could use this beautiful piano and there would be more opportunity for pianists and musicians to have concerts here."

West says city officials have given her a "preliminary move-in date" sometime during January 2012.

Teachers and students are planning a "thank you" concert pending the successful finish of their project.