Music students at UT will learn on only the best pianos in the world at a new facility that now bears the international mark of music excellence.
The School of Music is officially an All-Steinway School, thanks to the successful completion of an initiative to raise more than $3.5 million to purchase sixty-eight new Steinway & Sons pianos to either replace or add to its existing inventory.
The university joins an elite group of institutions worldwide that have the All-Steinway status. To receive the designation, at least 90 percent of an institution’s pianos must be Steinway-designed.
The pianos will be moved into the School of Music’s new Natalie L. Haslam Music Center during the week of August 5, just in time for the new building to open its doors to students August 21.
“These are the finest instruments you can play on, and to allow our students to study and perform on them is exceptional,” said Jeffrey Pappas, director of the School of Music, which is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. “What humbles me the most is that there are people who believe in our school so much that they want us to have the finest instruments. The quest for excellence and distinction continues as we walk through these doors.”
Internationally, more than 150 universities, conservatories, and schools worldwide are classified as All-Steinway Schools, including the Oberlin Conservatory, the Cincinnati Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute.
UT alumnus Jim Powell and his wife, Sandy, were among the first to support the All-Steinway initiative and led it to a successful completion. Fifty-eight donors contributed to the campaign.
“Sandy and I feel strongly that our students deserve the opportunity to develop their talents on the best pianos in the world, so we are thrilled about the School of Music’s new All-Steinway designation,” Powell said. “We can’t imagine a better place to show off the Steinways than in the new Natalie L. Haslam Music Center.”
The new Steinways will include upright pianos and grand pianos, bringing to 116 the total number of pianos in the School of Music.
The All-Steinway designation enhances the university and School of Music’s national profile, said Theresa Lee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Achievement of all-Steinway status certainly positions our School of Music in competitive advantage as we strive to retain and attract the best and brightest faculty and students,” she said.
To learn more about the School of Music, visit the website.
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C O N T A C T:
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)