SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. -- There's a grand proposal in Sun Prairie -- one that could compliment the city's new high school facility and keep music a vibrant part of education.

At a time when the arts are on the chopping blocks of school budgets all over the country, the Steinway Project hopes to raise $148,000 to bring one of the world's finest instruments to Sun Prairie students.

For Lauren Morasky, playing Debussy's "Clair De Lune" is a celebration of musical expression.

"There's a lot of things about music that are so important to me," said Morasky.

What makes her performance on Wednesday night even grander is that the Sun Prairie High School sophomore was performing on a Steinway grand piano for the first time.

"It just gives you this great feeling," said Morasky. "And it makes you feel amazing. It just makes the way that you play so much better."

"All the top artists, they've been polled and 98 percent of them say the Steinway is best piano to perform on," said Ken Paris, a retired band director at Sun Prairie High School, and one of the organizers for the Steinway Project.

The project is a fundraising campaign to put a Steinway-D grand piano on its new high school stage. The 1,000-seat performing arts center will be a part of the city's new high school, slated to open this fall.

"We're constantly trying to expose them to professional venues and artists," said Chad Whalley, SPHS orchestra director. "And I think if we can create that atmosphere at school, it just helps train them early on."

"Not only would it be a good thing for our students, but also if there are top notch quality performers passing through the area, they would look at Sun Prairie for a place to perform." said Paris.

The Steinway Project continues to fine tune its fundraising -- all in the hopes of preserving the melodies of music education.

"The instrument is so amazing that it just brings a whole new level of passion." said Morasky.

So far, the Steinway Project has collected $32,000. The piano itself costs $128,000.

Organizers said that the rest of the money will be used for maintenance costs for several years. The group is holding events for potential donors, showcasing a documentary on the process of building Steinways, followed by performances from students.

Donations for the Steinway Project can be sent to:

Bernie Powers Band Foundation
P.O. Box 183
Sun Prairie, WI 53590

Donors can also get more information can be found at www.thesteinwayproject.org

For More Info:

Info On Donating To The Steinway Project