In the spirit of using music to bring families closer together, a local musician and composer is donating her grand piano to raise cash for The Family Centre.

?Music brings families together, even families in crisis,? musician Lyn Lovett said. ?Music can also connect different generations.?

The piano will be sold to the highest bidder on the night of The Family Centre?s dinner and auction at the Fairmont Southampton next month.

The Yamaha piano has a satin ebony finish and was specifically tuned in Japan to be played in a high-humidity climate.

?It is a very special piano for Bermuda,? she said.

The landed cost in 1997 was $18,995 but the estimated landing cost in 2004 is $25,000. The opening bid on the night of the auction will be $7,500.

?We were looking for a new home for the piano and donating it to the Family Centre seemed like an obvious thing to do. I hope it helps to raise a lot of money on the night of this worthwhile cause,? Mrs. Lovett said.

The idea for the dinner/auction began when Mrs. Lovett was at movie star Michael Douglas? house one Christmas season, she said.

?He asked if I would play the piano. I said sure, but everyone would have to join in. Martha Dismont (the executive director of the Family Centre) was there. What did everyone want to sing? Motown. It unified the room. Martha said that night was the birth of the idea,? Mrs. Lovett said.

Continuing the Motown theme, the legendary Motown band the Funk Brothers will be playing at the fund raiser.

It is the first time the 2004 Grammy award winning band has ever played on the Island.

?The band have more hit singles than the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis combined,? as they were the backing group for Motown?s best performers for decades, Pippa Knap of The Family Centre said.

The presence of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas will also be felt (if perhaps not seen) as they are the evening?s honourable chairs.

It is not the first time Bermuda?s star residents have pitched in to help the charity.

The couple donated the proceeds of a court settlement to the Family Centre in November last year when they were awarded ?14,600 ? about $24,220 ? after suing ?Hello!? magazine for printing unauthorised photographs of their wedding.

?The Family Centre?s work is based upon a vision of a healthy Bermuda, one built upon healthy communities and healthy families. The work they do helps to stabilise families in crisis... Typically these children have parents who were also at risk at an early age, so by breaking this harmful chain,? Mrs. Knap said.

Tickets to the fundraising dinner on October 15 are priced at $200 and are available from The Family Centre?s office at 91, Reid Street East.