NOC Tonkawa hosts piano re-dedication Feb. 15
Northern Oklahoma College and Tonkawa’s extended artistic community are invited to celebrate the rebuilding, return, and re-dedication of NOC’s 9-foot Steinway D concert grand piano during a free concert on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, inside the Dineo Heilmann Auditorium at the Kinzer Performing Arts Center.
Local favorite Jerry Steichen and Tulsa native Cathy Venable will join forces to present a special four-hand piano concert demonstrating the power, flexibility, and virtuosity of the newly refurbished instrument. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the concert beginning at 7:30 p.m.
NOC’s 9-foot Steinway concert grand piano has long been a crown jewel of the Kinzer Performing Arts Center since the facility first opened. After more than 25 years of constant use, the instrument was in need of extensive care and maintenance.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of Emeritus Fine Arts Chair Dineo Heilmann, along with the leadership of President Diana Morris, Vice President for Financial Affairs Anita Simpson, the NOC Fine Arts Division, NOC’s Board of Regents, and countless community arts supporters, NOC was able to commit to the refurbishment of this grand instrument,” Steichen said.
According to Steichen, the Steinway Company transported the piano in July to its facility in New York, where it underwent a comprehensive restoration. The refurbishment included new tuning pins, strings, hammer action, and felts. The piano’s case was sanded and refinished to its original luster, lettering was replaced, and the interior was completely cleaned.
“What gives each grand piano its unique sound is the relationship between the wooden soundboard — the ‘soul’ of the piano — the iron plate that bears 18 to 20 tons of string pressure, and the wooden outer frame, which is carefully aged before assembly,” Steichen explained. “All of these essential elements were preserved in NOC’s piano. It is still our piano — but now with a new and greatly extended life expectancy.”
The piano was delivered back to NOC in early January. Steichen noted that newly restored pianos require time to “settle back in” to their environment, followed by repeated tunings and mechanical adjustments before reaching optimal performance condition.
The Feb. 15 program will include Gabriel Fauré’s evocative Dolly Suite, a four-hand sonata by Beethoven, an arrangement of Bach’s Sicilienne from Flute Sonata BWV 1031, Piazzolla’s Libertango, and a jazz-inspired sonata by Russian composer Nikolai Kapustin. Venable and Steichen will also perform solo works. The program will conclude with favorite novelty pieces including Leroy Anderson’s Fiddle Faddle and Arthur Benjamin’s Jamaican Rumba.
Earlier that day, the Eleanor Hays Art Gallery will host artists Sharon Allred and Romney Nesbitt for an Artist Talkback at 5 p.m. as their exhibition Ancestors and Spirit Guides continues.
Both events are free and open to the public.
