On Tuesday, December 8th, a piece of Hopkins history was returned to campus and delivered to its new home in Thompson Hall.

On the morning of December 8th, the Mason and Hamlin piano that previously resided in the Choral Room in DPH arrived back on campus, completely restored. Alumni/ae lovingly refer to the instrument as "Herb's piano" in memory of Herb Richmann, former Hopkins music teacher from 1953 to 1992. The piano left the campus for restoration back in May of 2009. The complete restoration was made possible in part by alumnus Skip Atkins '67 who championed the effort to raise funds for the project in honor of Mr. Richmann, who passed away in June of 2006. Atkins appealed to fellow alumni/ae to support the cause in memory Mr. Richmann and how he brought a love of music into all of their lives.

Atkins said of Richmann:
Like all good high school teachers, Herb understood that the process was as important as the product. Some of his students went on to have careers in music, but most of us had more enthusiasm than ability, with voices like adolescent crows, and only a passing acquaintace with the instruments we were called to play. Yet with Herb's skilled direction, together we often sounded very good. He was an original and tried original things–having us perform compositions by students, or letting us join the choir he directed in a Cheshire Church.

Choral teacher, JoAnn Wich was ecstatic to see the piano returned, and commented that her new choral room in Thompson Hall was now complete. She sat down to play a few bars and marveled at the clear sounds emitting from the newly refurbished piano. The piano had not been fully serviced in over fifty years and thanks to the dedication of Skip Atkins and all the members of the Hopkins community that contributed to the restoration, Herb Richmann's memory will live on.