“New” piano arrives at historic Raymond Theatre 

“Bella Sorella” sopranos, Nova and Susanna Jimenez, dazzled an audience in the historic Raymond Theatre Nov. 7 with a repertoire of operatic and popular music. But the “beautiful sisters” competed with a three-legged, 93-year-old beauty for the audience’s attention.

Center stage for an inaugural performance in its new location was a 1916 Boardman & Gray grand piano, funded by the community and purchased for placement in time to provide the sopranos’ pianist with a performance-quality instrument.

Randy Dennis, chairman of the Raymond Theatre’s board of directors, undraped the piano just prior to the performance and praised the community support that made it possible. Three local organizations – Pennywise, the Willapa Heritage Foundation and the L.V. and Stella Raymond Foundation – made generous contributions to get the ball rolling, and dozens of individual donors “bought” black or ivory keys to add to the fund.

Fund-raising began about 45 days earlier following news that the theatre’s old piano once again needed tuning and a rental needed to be arranged for Bella Sorella. Instead, Dennis offered to spearhead a fund-raising effort for the estimated $14,000 to purchase a permanent performance-quality instrument for the theatre – in time for the Nov. 7 event.

He said he was asked, “Do you really think we can do that?” He responded, “This community can do anything.”

E-mail requests and announcements brought in an “overwhelming” response, according to Virginia Carlson, chairperson of Sunday Afternoon Live, a community group that brings in performers such as Bella Sorella. “It’s been a heartwarming outpouring from the community,” Carlson said. “It far exceeded our expectations.”

The theatre’s old piano was donated to Raymond High School by the City of Raymond.

Special guests at Saturday’s performance were Del and Barbara Fandrich of Fandrich Piano Co., Centralia, who refurbished and refinished the Boardman grand, built in the heyday of piano construction in the United States.

“In the early 1900s from about 1905 through the 1920s, the United States was the largest manufacturer of pianos in the world,” said Del Fandrich. “During World War I, there was talk about shutting the piano industry down because it was considered to be a luxury trade. Then the lobbyists pointed out that doing that would thoroughly cripple the economy of the United States because at that time it held roughly the same economic position in the U.S. that the auto industry holds today.”

The piano industry at that time also held different standards for tonal quality, he added: “There was a much warmer, what I call a more dynamic voice, to a piano.”

The theatre’s new purchase seems to reflect the quality of that period.

The Bella Sorella “sisters” – who are actually sisters-in-law, having married brothers – stepped aside for a solo by their pianist, Ed Goldfarb. His performance of a Chopin melody brought a standing ovation.

It was a suitable inauguration.

Randy Dennis takes a look at the 1916 Boardman & Gray grand piano as it was delivered to the Raymond Theatre Nov. 6. Dennis is chairman of the theatre’s board of directors and spearheaded a fund drive that enabled the purchase of the piano.

Raymond Theatre manager Rebecca Watson bends down for a closer look at how to fasten the light to the theatre’s new grand piano, as Del Fandrich explains the process. Fandrich, of Fandrich Piano Co., Centralia, refurbished the 1916 Boardman & Gray piano and sold it to the theatre. He had a piano business in Hoquiam in the 1990s.

Rebecca Watson, Raymond Theatre manager, and Ric Gauger, Willapa Community Chorale director, discuss some of the merits of the new grand piano at the Raymond Theatre.

Del Fandrich puts final touches on the Raymond Theatre’s new grand piano after it was delivered to the historic theatre Nov. 6. In the background, a small group of community supporters were on hand to watch the delivery.