GIVING STORIES: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Songs in the Key of Life
A longtime Penn Charter family honors their parents and their alma mater. On a cold night last January, one of the warmest places in town was Timmons House. Flames from the fireplace took the chill off the first-floor rooms, friends greeted each other with hugs and handshakes, and in the corner by the windows a gleaming, nut-brown piano beckoned all to come close, to look and to listen. The occasion was the presentation by William J. McGuckin OPC ’52 of his family’s stunning Steinway baby grand piano. Pianist Jeff Torchon OPC ’06 demonstrated the warm tones of the instrument to an appreciative crowd, and McGuckin told its story to a gathering of friends, family and fellow OPCs ’52.
“My parents loved this school, and if they could have been involved in this decision, they would have wanted it this way.”
James OPC ’48 and Robert OPC ’57, entered as boys, and a second generation of McGuckins, Catherine, Jeffrey and William, followed in their footsteps. “We are so thankful that you have remembered how your family invested in you and that you have chosen to invest in your school,” Ford said. “This gift is not just about a piano, it’s about a family. And, now that it’s at Penn Charter, it’s still in the family.” Ford is a pianist, and he entertained the crowd with a spirited “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Ford said the Steinway, which was completely refurbished by the McGuckins, is “splendid.”
And here is the happy ending: The McGuckin Steinway is now in the band room of the Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts, surrounded by students and sound, and regularly used by the Upper and Middle School Jazz Bands and the Concert Band pianists. Music teacher Robert Wilson spoke enthusiastically of the instrument: “It’s a baby grand but sounds as if it’s a 7-footer. It has a beautiful tone. And, although it is not new, it looks brand new, and beautiful.” The McGuckin clan will be pleased to know that the Steinway has many young admirers, too. “Kids love to play it,” Wilson said. “There is something about a Steinway – the responsiveness of the keys – that makes it easy to play. We have several serious piano students who find time to fit playing this particular piano into their schedules because they love the way they sound when they play it.” PC
BRAVO!
His parents purchased the baby grand hoping that one of their children would master the instrument. But, McGuckin explained, the kids had no passion for piano. Nor the next generation either. For many years the Steinway was in his family’s vacation home, essentially unused. McGuckin wished that he could fulfill his parents’ loving inspiration and aspiration, he said. “I have long hoped that Penn Charter would want the piano,” he said. “My parents loved this school, and if they could have been involved in this decision, they would have wanted it this way.” Head of School Darryl J. Ford formally accepted the gift and noted that the McGuckin family history with Penn Charter dates back almost 80 years – McGuckin and his brothers
2014-15 Annual Report of Gifts
William Penn Charter School
25