The Steinway Model B piano has resided in the Chilkat Center for 33 years and will soon be the center of an entire concert, “A Night on the Steinway.”

Michael Marks, a board member of the Foundation for the Chilkat Center for the Arts, first had the idea for a concert when he noticed community members’ desire to play it while it was out on stage.

(Lizzy Hahn/ Chilkat Valley News) The Steinway Model B piano sits open on the stage of the Chilkat Center on March 30, 2026 in Haines.

Concert pianist Jean-Paul Billaud donated the instrument to the Chilkat Center in 1993. 

According to a Steinway piano index, the piano in the Chilkat Center was manufactured in 1975. Former piano teacher Nancy Nash knew Billaud when he worked for the University of Alaska Southeast. After performing in the Chilkat Center, Billaud donated his piano to the community.

“It’s definitely not common for a town our size to have both that hall, which does have wonderful acoustics, and then an instrument like that,” Nash said.

“It would be hard to get even if you were planning to make the acoustics perfect,” said Lorrie Dudzik, a board member on the Foundation for the Chilkat Center for the Arts. She and Nash said that Billaud admired the acoustics in the center.

The 1880s old grand piano was put into a box after the Steinway arrived. It remained mostly unused in the back of the Chilkat Center until Marks found it a few months ago. Upon recovering this piano, Marks had the idea to have a dueling piano performance during the “Night on the Steinway” concert. 

(Lizzy Hahn/ Chilkat Valley News) The Steinway Model B sits in the Chilkat Center on March 30, 2026 in Haines.

Marks showed the old grand piano to French pianist Baptiste Bailly, who came to Haines to perform with his band in mid-March.

“He (Bailly) sat down and played it for a while and had a big smile on his face and said something in French,” Marks said.

The goal for the concert, Dudzik said, is to “bring the local people who’ve always wanted to perform on that piano and give them an opportunity to do that.”

According to Marks, a piano tuner hasn’t been in town since before Covid. The Foundation for the Chilkat Center is looking for a piano tuner before the concert in May.

Nancy Nash last played the Steinway during the “Holly Jolly Follies” concert in the Center last December.

“We’re very, very fortunate to have that (piano),” Nash said.

Currently, five performers are signed up for the May 10 concert. Interested pianists can call Lorrie Dudzik at 766-2071. Musical selections are due by April 16.