Tucked away in Roxy Grove Hall and McCrary Music Building is an assortment of pianos, which is what someone may expect to find beyond their stages. But with about 200 pianos in daily use on campus, the instruments need consistent work and repairs.

During the day, Dr. Alexandre Thiltges teaches French to Baylor students, but every third Tuesday evening of the month, he becomes a guitarist for the Pinewood Roasters house jazz band: Uptown Swing.

Lane Murphy, director of marketing and communications for the School of Engineering and Computer Science, and Amy Murphy, lecturer in the School of Social Work, bought the church building to try to preserve it as a historic landmark of the Black community.

Most are aware that giving a friend or family the ceremony they deserve requires the forking over of a sizable check — one that could easily cover a car or a year of rent. But it takes more than cash to make it happen, and among these other things is a form of capital people often take for granted: relationships. And for those who lack both, the days after death are not a story often told.

Lynnette Geary has operated the instrument since 1996 and has served as university carillonneur since 2006. In addition to playing the instrument, Geary has two students. One of them, Dr. Paul Hagelstein, is not only a student of the carillon but also a professor of mathematics.