In December 2020, three large moving vans arrived on campus bearing gifts: 50 Steinway pianos were being carefully unloaded, rolled into Frasier Hall, uncrated, placed and expertly tuned. They were the final delivery of a total of 96 new Steinway and Steinway-designed Boston pianos gifted to 网曝吃瓜. Almost entirely funded by gifts to the university, they made 网曝吃瓜 Colorado鈥檚 only publicly funded institution of higher education with the prestigious All-Steinway School designation, and one of fewer than 200 institutions worldwide to attain the designation.  

鈥淚n a year where there鈥檚 just been a lot of hardship, it was really so exciting to watch,鈥� Kiki Gilderhus, Ph.D., says. She was serving as interim dean in the College of Performing and Visual Arts at the time. 鈥淚 walked over from Guggenheim to Frasier, and there were three trucks, two in waiting and one that was open. They had a work crew of four or five men who were moving them in. I think about the tangibility, the physicality of these pianos; there was this kind of great juxtaposition of muscle and then delicacy because, of course, these are also fragile objects.鈥澛�

Gilderhus describes the moment the pianos arrived as 鈥渁n unfolding.鈥� For her and others involved in the project, that unfolding brought with it a sense of both culmination and possibility: of instruments waiting to lend voice to gifted 网曝吃瓜 students and faculty after a long, quiet year of remote and virtual music.

From Astoria to Greeley

At first, the idea of an All-Steinway School seemed distant. In 2007, Professor of Piano Lei Weng, Ph.D., joined the faculty at 网曝吃瓜. A Steinway Artist, he remembers mentioning the All-Steinway School designation to Michael Alexander, who was then the School of Music Director, about a year later.   

鈥淚 knew how much this meant to the school, to our students, to faculty鈥嗏�斺�唄ow much it would change the whole school and what kind of service it would provide,鈥� Weng says.   

Just about a decade later, Bob and Bonnie Phelps came to campus. Their son had graduated from 网曝吃瓜 in 2012, and they had a deep sense of appreciation for the education he received and the experience he had at the university. As donors, they had worked with the College of Performing and Visual Arts leadership team for a couple of years to identify and purchase instruments, technology and equipment for the Schools of Music, Musical Theatre and Visual Arts. On that day in 2017, they came to campus at the invitation of the university to meet students who benefited from the new instruments and equipment.

Gilderhus remembers the day well. 鈥淚 felt such incredible pride and gratitude. So often in administration you鈥檙e so concerned with minutiae, and you don鈥檛 always have the opportunity to see how students are being impacted. That day sparked future conversations,鈥� she remembers. 鈥淲e started to really talk with Bob about how we could achieve the All-Steinway School designation.鈥�  

The Phelps were inspired by the impact an All-Steinway School designation would have on students and by the doors it would open for 网曝吃瓜 as a premiere performing arts program.  

Steinway鈥檚 audit of the university鈥檚 piano fleet at the time revealed most of the pianos to be in poor to fair condition.  

鈥淲e collaborated with the PVA leadership and the Office of University Advancement to create an action plan which became 鈥楾he Steinway Initiative.鈥� It would require almost $1 million in fundraising from private donors to update and replace almost 90% of the university鈥檚 inventory with new pianos from Steinway & Sons,鈥� Bob Phelps says.  

The Steinway Initiative reflected the Phelps鈥� longtime support of many campus needs, including the Campus Commons project, which created the perfect setting for a beautiful Steinway D concert grand piano鈥嗏�斺�哸lso funded by philanthropic support. It would be the first of the new Steinway fleet.   

The nine-foot Steinway D concert grand was selected in Steinway鈥檚 Astoria, New York, showroom by 网曝吃瓜 faculty members Adam Zukiewicz, D.M.A., associate professor of Piano; Dana Landry, professor of Jazz Studies and Piano; and Weng.   

Zukiewicz was in New York with two other colleagues鈥嗏�斺�咷al Faganel, associate professor of Cello, head of String Area; and Jubal Fulks, associate professor of Violin鈥嗏�斺�唗o play at Carnegie Hall as the Colorado Piano Trio, a chamber music ensemble. Weng and Landry flew to New York for a day to join Zukiewicz to select the piano for the Campus Commons Performance Hall.   

Both Weng and Zukiewicz explained that each piano is different and selecting one can be a very personal process.  

鈥淪teinway pianos are handmade using the highest materials,鈥� Weng explains. 鈥淭he process is very consistent; however, every piece of wood is different鈥� each worker, they are different. Each piano is different, just like a person born with a fixed set of DNA. That also exists in Steinway pianos.鈥�   

Zukiewicz says, 鈥淚 think what makes a piano and an instrument really special is its capacity to express the variety of emotions, that variety of sounds, and it allows us to express our emotions through that with relative ease and clarity.鈥�    

He remembers sitting down that day to one particular piano in the showroom. 鈥淚t was like a magnetic feeling. It鈥檚 like you try something, and you鈥檙e just like, 鈥極h, this is nice.鈥� Then you try something else, and it鈥檚, 鈥榃ow, I didn鈥檛 know this has this color that I can produce.鈥� You develop this personal connection with an instrument, and it talks to you. You give it something, and it talks back to you. That鈥檚 the intimacy of the relationship that you have as a musician with your instrument.鈥�  

It was that piano that Zukiewicz, Weng and Landry agreed was the one they wanted for 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 Campus Commons Performance Hall.  

鈥淐arnegie Hall is very famous for having one of the best pianos that you can imagine. Their pianos are usually handpicked by some of the best artists. The day after our concert, I went to select our piano. In my ears, I had that instrument that I just played on (at Carnegie Hall), and I can tell you that, compared to that instrument, we got a better piano. That says a lot, I think.鈥�

Playing the Magic

The Steinway Model D is now one of two pianos presiding over the performance hall at Campus Commons. Its arrival on campus elevated the vision for an all-Steinway fleet of pianos.  

鈥淭here was this sense that if students are going to perform on an instrument of this caliber, then think what they could achieve鈥嗏�斺�哸nd what it would do to add to the prestige of 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 already acclaimed School of Music鈥嗏�斺�唅f all of the pianos were of the same quality,鈥� says 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 Vice President for Advancement, Allie Steg Haskett. 鈥淧hilanthropy鈥嗏�斺�唋ed by the Phelps鈥嗏�斺�唌ade that vision a reality, and it was so exciting to see nearly 100 new pianos arrive on campus.鈥�   

The pianos provide students, faculty, visiting artists and prospective students with high-quality consistency that helps them grow as artists and reach their potential and are making an audible difference in the lives of the students who are playing them.   

鈥淭hese pianos allow (students) to produce better music, express themselves more clearly, find more varieties of sounds, express their emotions in more diverse ways, and really engage much more with the music through having a high-quality instrument,鈥� Zukiewicz says.

Weng explains that quality can reflect a student鈥檚 true ability. 鈥淭he keys can respond to your touch in hundreds of ways,鈥� Weng explains. 鈥淵ou put a little pressure, a little quicker, a little slower, your finger position changes from more vertical to more flat鈥嗏�斺�唅t is all reflected in the sound. This is like magic. So, you see, now they鈥檙e playing the magic.鈥�  

The students can feel the difference. Masters student Yuan Li says the pianos allow her to express herself more fully. 鈥淭he Steinway pianos are one of the best in the world. And when I perform on this piano, I just feel like it can really give me so much more, that can fulfill my imagination in the tones, in the sound and color. So actually, I can really achieve what I鈥檓 aiming for on this instrument.鈥�  

And for future students, the All-Steinway School designation makes 网曝吃瓜 a clear choice. 鈥淚t basically tells everybody that this is a school that鈥檚 serious about their instruments. They鈥檙e serious about piano studies and serious about piano performances. They鈥檙e serious about piano students. That鈥檚 a very important sign to send to everyone out there, to our prospective piano students,鈥� Zukiewicz says.

Ready to Return

Looking to the future鈥嗏�斺�唂or both current and future students, as well as the entire university community鈥嗏�斺�� there is a sense of anticipation after a year of quiet isolation.  

鈥淲e鈥檝e had to find lots of different ways to continue to practice, to compose, to perform, to reach out to audiences and make connections,鈥� Gilderhus says. 鈥淎nd right now, it鈥檚 largely digitally or through computers. But the thing that I think has been sustaining is the gift of these pianos. This is a gift that鈥檚 waiting for that moment where we start to open up again. This is a poignant moment. We鈥檝e not been able to have live performances for a year, and so there鈥檚 this pent-up kind of desire to really see these pianos in action and to see the art that鈥檚 being created and experience that.鈥�  

Whether it鈥檚 students experiencing the opportunity to play or audiences experiencing the difference these pianos make in the performance hall, there鈥檚 a sense of promise that resides with the pianos, a sense that their gift to the community is waiting for the moment when they can be played鈥嗏�斺�哸nd heard鈥嗏�斺�唗ogether.   

鈥淭he experience is just unlike anything else, to hear the sound,鈥� Weng says of the new pianos. 鈥淓ven the best technology cannot deliver that. The sound surrounds you 360 degrees鈥嗏�斺�唗here鈥檚 no gap, you are in the sound. Can you imagine? It鈥檚 not a speaker coming from here, or here, or here, but the real sound of the piano. It surrounds you and embraces you.鈥�