Learn about the importance of art during World War II from Jordan Cook, enjoy a book talk by authors Céline Pieters and Celia Ducaju about their graphic novel Interlude, and hear Frank Haude’s presentation on Victory Verticals, pianos sent to the European war front to boost morale.
This program is part of the temporary Victory Verticals exhibit, highlighting the little-known story of the Steinway & Sons portable upright pianos that were specially built during World War II to boost morale for soldiers on the front line through live music.
Learn more about Victory Verticals
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Event Details
Date: Saturday, August 9, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
This event is FREE for Members and included with general admission.
Schedule
Opening Remarks with Frank Haude | 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM
Frank Haude, collector and restorer of the three Victory Vertical pianos on display, will deliver opening remarks and share the pianos' history boosting morale across all warfronts.
Victory Verticals as Time Capsules with Jordan Cook | 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM
Jordan Cook will share how the pianos' technical construction tells the story of war, from iron-wound strings to leg-less bases, and how they carry forward the legacies of those who played them.
Interlude Book Talk and Performance | 2:00 PM to 2:45 PM
Celebrate the English release of the graphic novel Interlude by Celia Ducaju and Céline M. Pieters, which uncovers the history of the Victory Verticals, and enjoy a thematic performance on one of the Victory Verticals by celebrated pianist Théo Braekman.
Interlude Book Signing | 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM
About the Speakers
Frank Haude is a military and aviation history enthusiast who is extremely passionate about World War I and II artifacts and their ability to tell interdisciplinary, multifaceted and complex stories. He began working on the Victory Verticals project over ten years ago and has successfully restored three pianos, which will be on display at The Museum of Flight for the duration of the exhibit.
Jordan Cook is a piano rebuilder who specializes in the restoration of pianos with extraordinary histories. She is one of few technicians actively restoring World War II-era Steinway Victory Verticals—compact pianos dropped into war zones to uplift troops. Among her most meaningful projects is the completion of Colonel George Boucher’s unfinished Victory Vertical, a restoration that honored both the man and the music he left behind.
Explore her work at arukahpiano.com
Celia Ducaju is a Belgian artist who holds a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Novels from the ESA Saint-Luc Brussels and a Master's degree in Scientific Illustration from the École Estienne in Paris. She explores both drawing and painting and has collaborated with various scientific institutions, including the Pasteur Institute in Paris and the University of Brussels. Her pictural work has been showcased in several group exhibitions in Belgium, China, and France.
Céline M. Pieters is a Belgian creative writer and a researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria. She is specialized in rhetoric, creative writing and the ethical roles of imagination. Previously, she traveled around the world publishing travel guides and boardgames for various French companies. Her latest book, The Words of Robotics: From Movement Perception to Natural Language, was released in the United States in 2025.
Photo Courtesy of the National Archives
