NGMF Our Piano

May of 1939 saw the inception of the New Glasgow Music Festival at the First Presbyterian Church Hall which, it is presumed, furnished a piano for the first five annual festivals.
In September of 1943, an upright piano was purchased for $600, with a $325 down payment and the balance paid in full by the close of the festival in 1944.

In May of 1951, the organizing committee authorized the association's secretary, Mr J.N. (Joe) Fraser, to sell the existing piano and to investigate the cost of a new grand piano. Westminster Church purchased the upright piano for $350 in June of 1952, but following the untimely death of Mr. Fraser in November of 1952, Westminster Church kindly agreed to loan out their newly acquired piano for the 1953 festival in May.

Early in 1953, the festival committee established the J. N. Fraser Memorial Grand Piano Fund, and as donations were received, lists of the contributors and the sums donated were published regularly in the Eastern Chronicle newspaper. In October of 1953, the piano selection committee recommended the purchase of a Heintzman 7-foot mahogany grand piano. At a cost was $2,800, with $500 down and a promissory note signed by the festival committee for the balance, a new grand piano was delivered to the New Glasgow Junior High School.

By April of 1954, the piano fund had collected donations of $2,278, and the J.N. Fraser Memorial Grand Piano was formally presented to the community following the music festival's Final Concert in May of 1954. Including the $50 annual insurance premium, the balance owing on the piano was paid in full by June of 1954 using donations that had accumulated in the memorial fund. The Heintzman piano remained at the Junior High School until it was moved to Trinity United Church in June of 1991. Once there, it was used extensively by both the church and the community throughout the seasons.

During 2003 another piano selection committee was formed to investigate the feasibility of upgrading to a newer grand piano. The committee recommended the purchase of a 2-year old Yamaha C7 Grand Piano with polished ebony finish for $35,000.

Such pianos list for over $55,000 new. The half century old Heintzman grand piano was traded-in as part of the purchase agreement. Fortunately, over the fifty years during which prudently managed festival activities either broke even or produced small surpluses, combined with the wise investment of those surpluses, the festival committee was able to make full payment for the new piano upon delivery in December of 2003. The new Yamaha grand piano from Doctor Piano was presented to the community at a public performance on April 17th of 2004 entitled Isn't it Grand! that featured world-renowned pianist Paul Stewart. Paul was raised in Pictou County and was awarded the coveted Rose Bowl award in both 1975 and 1978.