(The following was submitted by Anchorage concert pianist Juliana Osinchuk. View her playing her arrangement of "Alaska's Flag" on You Tube.)

Osinchuk and Chernonog: with the newly-arrived Steinway Grand at Faith Bible Chapel in Tok.

No one could have foretold the adventures awaiting the 9 ft Steinway Concert Grand when it was built three years ago. It would travel across the US and be barged to Anchorage, Alaska. After serving as the Concert Artist Steinway at the Steinway Piano Gallery of Alaska for more than two years, it traveled another 7 hours to its new home in Tok, Alaska – a town of approximately 1,800 population, 90 miles from the Canadian border.
 
The last adventure began at 8 AM on Tuesday May 5, 2009 when a crew started to break down the piano on the stage of the Steinway Gallery in Anchorage and wrap it tenderly in pads & blankets. They fastened it into a U-Haul truck for the arduous 329 mile journey to Tok on the two lane Palmer Highway full of construction and frost heaves. Dan McElrath, Steinway technician and Vada Dunford, technician in training drove the piano. Trish Allen, owner of the Steinway Gallery with her 5 year old daughter, Hazel, Evgeny Chernonog, a Steinway jazz pianist & I followed. The journey is long but beautiful. We passed the town of Palmer, famous for the annual Alaska State Fair then traveled a narrow, twisting road through several little villages. The grandiose Matanuska Glacier is clearly visible far away on our right. Even with the great distance, you can see the reflection of blue in the glacier ice. Then we ascended the Eureka Pass (elev. 3321 ft.) which is also famous for its family diner run since the late 1930’s and homemade soups & pies. When is the last time you had banana cream pie full of chunks of real bananas?

Alaska is a state of huge snow-capped mountains and many rivers & lakes. Spring was making progress. Most of the waterways were starting to melt, some creating flooding due to ice dams. Dan texted us a note en route saying, “Sorry but the piano is in Peter’s Creek” as a joke. As we passed Sheep Mountain we looked up the steep cliffs and saw several tiny white dots. Binoculars confirmed that we were looking at dall sheep. We passed dozens of snoeshoe hares, their fur midway between the camouflage of winter white and summer browns. There were many moose, including a cow with two newborn moose calves munching on the new spring shoots of birch. We saw eagles, a red fox and were lucky to catch fleeting glances of a dozen caribou crossing the road on their migratory paths.

The last 80 miles of the journey were beset by heavy rain which turned into wet snow. In Tok, we were greeted by Pastor Troy Able of the Faith Bible Chapel who showed us our accommodations in the log cabin parsonage next to the church. Tok, an area of extreme temperatures (it fell to -90 F last April, 08) built an underground passageway to connect the parsonage and the church buildings, so early Wednesday after an incredible breakfast of homemade biscuits, banana breads and eggs courtesy of Rita Able, we took the underground tunnel to start our day of student workshops. The rambunctious grades 6 thru 12 arrived first. The 50-plus kids were fascinated by the beautiful Steinway, its grandiose stature and massive projecting sound. After a little lesson on the history of pianos with focus on the Steinway family, Evgeny & I performed. This was followed by many questions and the one hour session turned into almost two. After a break, we met the little kids – K – grade 5. Again there were over 50 kids. The chaperones informed us that we had had perfect attendance! Their fascination overcame any urges to fidget. Evgeny and I entertained them with clapping, “Twinkle, twinkle”, Mozart, ragtime and the Pink Panther. The kids asked a lot of questions. Their favorite was: “when did you start to play the piano” followed by “how many years have you been playing?” My answer to both was “since I was four”. Only the adults laughed at the joke!

Trish Allen was busy splitting her attention between organizing cameras, the upcoming dedication concert, and Hazel, who was flitting around like any 5 year old & making lots of new friends. This piano was bought anonymously by a music-loving Tok resident who was present at all the events. The sheer delight was certainly visible on the face. The town, its community and all the arts are very blessed to have such a generous person of foresight. The only request by the patron was to have a plaque mounted that read:
“This wonderful instrument is to provide a voice in the wilderness to glorify God”

The piano students’ workshop started in the late afternoon with only one student willing to play but during the session more volunteered. After two hours Evgeny and I were still teaching. The last gathering of the day was in the evening for the church members and focused on the details of Steinway Piano manufacturing and its maintenance. Valuable information was passed on by our Alaskan Steinway technician, Dan McElrath.

Thursday morning greeted us with sun peeking thru the clouds. The local piano teacher, Mary Simms, is also a wildlife refuge coordinator for the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. She drove us on a sightseeing tour of the area which encompasses the Tetlin Refuge, the Wrangell-St Elias National Park and the Kuane National Park. These lands constitute the largest contiguous conservation units in the world. We were rewarded by thousands of Sandhill Cranes creating swirling patterns against the blue skies as they flew high above us. This is one of the densest areas of nesting waterfowl in Alaska. As we came across an open water pool we were rewarded by pairs of Trumpeter Swans, Canvasbacks, Horned Grebes, Buffleheads and many more. A birdlover’s jackpot!

The crowning moment of everyone’s efforts finally came in the evening, and the dedication concert began. The church was packed including all the stage seats. In all over 140 people attended the concert. Some drove over an hour. I performed selections by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninov. Evgeny played jazz favorites by Gershwin, Erroll Gardner, Fats Waller, and Mancini as well as a few of his own compositions. The crowd’s enthusiasm was overwhelming and we could probably have played all night. After the concert adults and kids alike crowded around the Steinway trying to touch it, play it and just bursting with excited by its presence. They circled it, crawled underneath and marveled at its beauty. Pastor Able could barely get them to go home so he could close the church. Our final Tok experience was a late snack at Fast Eddy’s the main town eatery.

Early the next morning we headed back down the road to Anchorage full of memories, new friends and realizing that music and this beautiful Steinway Grand made it all happen.