The WVU College of Creative Arts is celebrating the delivery of three new Steinway pianos to the Creative Arts Center on April 16, another step in the process of the School of Music making the transition to an All-Steinway School.

Piano students from the School of Music and from its Community Music Program will present a “play-a-thon” in the main lobby during the afternoon to welcome the three new Boston Upright Steinways, the gift of a donor who is committed to WVU’s “All Keyed Up” campaign.

The celebration will begin at 3:30 p.m. and is open to the public. College of Creative Arts Dean Paul Kreider and School of Music Director Keith Jackson will be on hand to thank the donor and welcome the new pianos. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, also gave a new Steinway grand piano to the School of Music last year.

“We are pleased that we continue to make progress toward our goal of becoming an All Steinway School with this acquisition of three more pianos,” said Kreider. “We are grateful to all our donors who make it possible for us to provide our students and faculty with the industry standard for their daily work.”

Since its inception in 2012, the School of Music’s All-Steinway Campaign has raised nearly $400,000 through the support of 144 donors, which has resulted in 15 new pianos for music students. The School needs 40 more Steinways to be designated an All-Steinway School.

In becoming an All Steinway School, WVU is joining approximately 150 other major universities across the country and throughout the world that use Steinway pianos exclusively.

The All-Steinway designation will also allow the college to partner with more than 1,500 Steinway Artists worldwide, enhancing master classes and performances at WVU and providing performance opportunities at Steinway Hall in New York and at Steinway events worldwide.

Currently, All-Steinway schools include Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Yale School of Music, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and many others.

Steinway pianos are the standard for concert stages worldwide, with 98 percent of performing artists choosing to play Steinway exclusively. The construction and design of Steinway pianos, when maintained in best performance condition, give them a distinct musical capacity.

For more information about how to make a gift in support of “All Keyed Up,” please contact College of Creative Arts Development Director Anna Justice at (304) 293-4331 or Anna.Justice@mail.wvu.edu.

The gift of new Steinway pianos was made in conjunction with “A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University.” The $1 billion comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017.

-WVU-

cl/04/14/15

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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