If there’s any sound that has long defined the bustle of the Student Union, it’s the playful melodies that trickle out from the famed piano perched on the building’s second floor.
This semester, the piano has found a new home in Student Union room 145a, but the instrument’s tunes and melodies still inspire passerby.
Rin Krivokrysenko, a senior bioinformatics-computer science and statistics major, was the first student to play a tune on the newly-installed Boston upright. While on their way to breakfast last Wednesday, Krivokrysenko realized the doors to room 145a were open — inviting guests into a pleasant surprise.
“Then I saw it — the SU piano, in all its glistening glory,” they said.
After a COVID-19-filled year-and-a-half, Krivokrysenko says it’s nice to be able to see such an iconic staple back on campus.
“It was obviously not the same piano, but still, there was a piano back in the SU,” Krivokrysenko said. “It was great to finally have some good news after such a rough start to the semester. Considering it was so early in the morning, it occurred to me that I might have been the first student to get to play this brand-new piano and the administrators nearby confirmed this.”
Hoi Lam Wong, a senior computer science major, calls the piano a helpful outlet, especially since it is so difficult to practice in a dorm setting. Despite this, Wong and other students are nostalgic for the piano’s previous location, in the middle of the SU.
“You can share the music with more people and it brings music to the whole SU building where a lot of students gather,” Wong said. “The room [it is currently in] is not exactly sociable compared to the flagroom. I can understand the decision and it is probably there for clubs, but I still wish they could put back the old, slightly broken piano in the SU flagroom.”
Many students are excited to have the opportunity to play again, but miss the friendly atmosphere the keys used to create.
Ryu Dorn, a fouth-year biomedical sciences major, says that the SU feels “less lively” now.
“It made it worthwhile to have lunch in the SU or do light work there while listening to other people play,” Dorn said. “I feel that having an open piano to play helps the campus be more connected as a whole, and less separated by people's majors or year in school.”
Regardless of where the music comes from, there is no doubt that the student body will continue to connect with others through song.
“The piano is one of the only good memories I've had at UB since COVID-19 shut everything down,” Dorn said.
Jack Porcari is the senior news/features editor and can be reached at jack.porcari@ubspectrum.com
Jack Porcari is a senior news/features editor at The Spectrum. He is a political science major with a minor in journalism. Aside from writing and editing, he enjoys playing piano, flow arts, reptiles and activism.
