Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Keene State First in NH to Begin Earning All-Steinway Designation

  • 09/19/18

KEENE, NH – Keene State College (KSC) is the first school in New Hampshire to begin a program to earn the designation of All-Steinway School. KSC will join a prestigious list of 185 colleges, universities, and music conservatories worldwide to receive this designation from Steinway & Sons. The four-year program will result in a new inventory of Steinway pianos for the KSC community, and to be enjoyed by Redfern Arts Center patrons as well. This program provides students access to high quality equipment in addition to outstanding music faculty who offer instruction and mentorship.

KSC accepted 18 Steinway pianos that are on loan to the college—the start of Steinway’s Festival Placement Program. These pianos have spent the summer in service to major music festivals, including Tanglewood, Berkshire Choral Festival, and Bowdoin. Students, faculty, and performers booked at the Redfern Arts Center will use the pianos for rehearsals and performances throughout the current academic year.

“This initiative underscores Keene State’s commitment to providing access to high-quality instruction and equipment for our students,” says Associate Professor of Music, Heather Gilligan. “We are a conservatory-level music program that is uniquely situated within the state’s public liberal arts college; this means that we not only deliver a nationally accredited curriculum with top-level faculty, but we also work with over 500 students across campus who take music classes, play in ensembles, and take lessons. The All-Steinway program will assure that students across campus, regardless of their primary area of study, will have access to the best instruments. It’s truly a distinctive honor for the college, and an important resource for our students.”

After this academic year, the Festival Pianos will return to their summer jobs and KSC will purchase four Steinway-built pianos. At the start of the 2020 Academic Year, the college will again “borrow” Festival Pianos—14 this time—committing to more purchases in June 2020. The process will repeat until 2022, at which point the school will have replaced their entire inventory.

Fundraising efforts for the program are underway. The “quiet phase” of a capital campaign will enlist the participation of alumni, community members, and private and corporate foundations. A public celebration for the All-Steinway Initiative is in the planning stages.

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.