By Bill Schanen, IV

PORT WASHINGTON, WI --  Last week Wednesday was a special day for members of the Port Washington High School Music Boosters, who less than two years ago set the lofty goal of raising more than $60,000 for an instrument the school could not afford. Wednesday was the day a 9-foot, Class D Steinway grand piano was wheeled onto its new home on the school’s auditorium stage.  “This is so huge for our music program,” Choral Director Dennis Gephart said. “It says so much about this community because this piano wasn’t purchased with a large grant or donation. There were a lot of people who stepped up and made this happen.”

In 2010, the Music Boosters launched what it called a Key Contributor campaign and invited people to buy a key on a piano plaque made and donated by Port Washington resident Tom Klotz. Port High student TJ Koopman contributed to the effort by constructing a piano storage container for his Eagle Scout project.   A successful fundraising campaign combined with what Gephart described as a generous seller to make the dream of a new piano — and not just any piano — a reality.  The school purchased the Steinway, which replaces a 100-year-old piano that has endured years of hard use and a flood, for $62,000 from a musician who remains a bit of a mystery.