Family is instrumental in giving the gift of music
The McCamans donated a four-generation piano to the NBHS music dept.
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

The McCaman family of North Brunswick decided to donate a piano, which had been in their family for four generations, to the North Brunswick High School music department.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The McCaman family of North Brunswick made a decision that was music to the ears of high school musicians: they decided to donate a piano to the school which has been in their family for four generations.

"It means everything. It just shows the impact of the arts out there in the community," fine arts supervisor Peggy Sica said. "We have the availability of excellent instruments to work with."

The Henry Miller studio piano will be the fourth one now housed at the school, and will be used by all of the music students at any given time. The district grounds crew picked up the piano from Renay and Sheldon McCaman, whose house is about five minutes away from the school, and delivered it in October.

The family also donated all of their sheet music, originally unbeknownst to Sica, which she discovered only when she opened the piano bench.

"It was no longer being used consistently," Renay said. She, herself, can play with sheet music and her oldest daughter, Carla, a 1997 graduate of the school, took lessons.

Because Carla and Lauren, her youngest daughter, a 2003 graduate, both got good educations in North Brunswick, and because Renay taught in the public school system for over 30 years, "being that it is not being used we wanted it for the betterment of the students," Renay said. "I love music. I believe people can have a passion for it. I just wanted it to be used advantageously by the students.

Sica said a Bechstein piano from the estate of Trieste Rao, a former longtime music teacher in the district who passed away four years ago, was donated to the high school two years ago.