Shari Ulrich recently generously donated her Aldrich oak classic upright piano to our school and here is the story of that piano
This was the piano that I wrote almost all the songs for my first four albums on. In fact, it’s even pictured on the back of my first album, Long Nights, with the dulcimer I built sitting on top of it. There was something truly special about sitting at that piano, looking out at the harbour, and following the mysterious muse. At the time, I didn’t really know how to play piano very well, but that turned out to be a gift. Without any ingrained habits, everything I played was a “happy accident,” giving the songs an adventurous spirit.
In 1988, I moved to Vancouver and asked some friends on Salt Spring if they would look after the piano for me. They had two small daughters who absolutely loved it—so much that when it came back to me, every key was chipped! I decided to think of it as a sign that the piano had been well-loved, and it still sounded beautiful.
By 1993, I had moved to Bowen Island, but by then I had inherited my grandparents’ Steinway Grand, and I didn’t have room for both. It wasn’t until 1997, when I moved into a new home on Bowen, that the piano finally had a place in my living room, where it stayed for the next 27 years.
I like to think that all the songs I’ve written on that piano still live in the wood, and that anyone who sits down to play it will find the same joy in those “happy accidents” that I did—or maybe even have the skill to make a room come alive! The power of music is incomparable, and it’s brought me more joy than I can describe. That’s why I’m so happy to gift this piano to Island Pacific School. Have at ’er!
Shari Ulrich