April Fools’ Day was memorable for nearly 200 local students, but not because they were targets of practical jokes and hoaxes. Instead, they were treated to a special concert at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall where the stage was filled with 10 grand pianos and adorned with than 1,500 long-stemmed roses.

Among the guests at the fourth annual “10 Grands” concert were three dozen youngsters from Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue. For many of them, it was their first concert, and for several, it also was their first visit to Benaroya, home of Seattle Symphony.

The Boys & Girls Club participants, plus 100 other youngsters from various human services organizations around the area, and their chaperones were guests of music enthusiasts Robert Hord Jr. and Melinda Hord of Bellevue. The couple met in 1973 as members of the Rice University band, and music has remained an integral part of their lives.