PEABODY — An antique piano has found a new home at Bishop Fenwick High School.
The piano was donated to the school by Manchester-by-the-Sea resident Joe Sabella and his family last year. Over 80 years old, the piano is a family heirloom his late mother, Mildred Sabella, loved to play in her Long Island home.
Joe Sabella’s daughter, Kimberly, graduated from Fenwick in 2000. The piano sat largely unused in their home after she moved to California.
That changed this month. After being decorated by Class of ‘99 alumnus Patrick Freeman, students played the instrument during a concert at the Fenwick Night at the Arts on May 14. Nearly 25 students were also honored that night for their outstanding work in the arts.
Freemen is the artist in residence at Sing for Hope, a New York City-based nonprofit where artists vibrantly decorate old pianos that are then moved to public spaces like schools and hospitals to be played by anyone who comes across them.