New Pianos Thanks to TCA Alumni and Other Generous Donors

For the past 30 years, teachers in the Fine Arts department of TCA have used the pianos available to them to instruct and guide their students in choral and musical pursuits. The pianos have been used to play everything from “Turkey in the Straw” by beginners taking private lessons, to melodic hymns and soulful pieces that accompany the Voices in Praise student chorus, to sacred selections written by the great composers and performed by high schoolers competing in the annual FACCS Fine Arts Competition.

This year, donors, many of whom were former students of Mrs. Joan Cordell–long time choral director at TCA, gave generously to allow the purchase of new pianos for the Fine Arts department. Mrs. Cordell is most appreciative of this gift that she now uses to teach the children of some of those alumni donors. She lovingly calls these her “grand-students.”

The current choral director, Mrs. Rebecca Appleby, is a TCA alumna herself. Her current students were excited and surprised to see the new pianos, but were shocked to learn that the old pianos had been in place at the academy since before their director was born! Mrs. Appleby is grateful to be able to use the new instruments to help her students develop their musical skills. She invites everyone to come to the Fine Arts department Christmas concert in the auditorium on December 10, at 7pm to hear the students perform the pieces they have been learning this fall.

Mrs. Cordell, Mrs. Appleby, the other teachers and students of the Fine Arts department send a huge “Thank you” to each person and organization that donated funds for the new pianos. The instruments will be used to help future generations of music students discover and live out their God-given purpose.