Feature
Sept
15
Nicholls Named All-Steinway School
by Terry Trahan Jr.
The Nicholls State University Department of Music has a new excuse to make a little noise.
When faculty, students and “friends of the piano” take the stage together on 21 Steinway pianos for the finale of the department’s Monster Piano Concert, they will do so knowing that the music program is now designated as an All-Steinway School.
Only 130 universities and other institutions of higher education hold such a distinction around the world, and Nicholls is the only public university in Louisiana to offer its students exclusive use of Steinway pianos to practice and perform on.
Other notable music programs that hold this distinction include Tulane University, the Yale School of Music, the China Conservatory of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
“Students who are training to become professional athletes don’t want to use second-rate balls and don’t wear second-rate shoes,” said Dr. Carol Britt, head of the music department. “Students of music will now have the equipment to achieve their best.”
New York City’s Carnegie Hall exclusively uses pianos manufactured by Steinway and Sons, Britt said. It’s a testament to the instrument’s build quality and precision, which Britt describes as “impeccable.”
The music department at Nicholls began its mission to become an All-Steinway School three years ago when donors provided the program with a few pianos following Nocturne, a recital performed by faculty to raise funds for music scholarships. The gifts kept coming until all the older pianos were replaced by Steinways. Thought not all grand pianos, Britt is excited to give her students the opportunity to utilize the 21 quality instruments.
They will get their chance to show off the pianos at the Monster Piano Concert on Sept. 20. The concert started in 2008 as a celebration of Nicholls’ 60th anniversary. It has since become a way for faculty, students and guests to raise funds to acquire more Steinway pianos. Funds will now go toward maintaining the pianos.
Last year, six grand pianos were placed on the stage in Talbot Theater. Throughout the concert, 18 pianists tickled the ivories. This year, all 21 pianos will be played on the stage at once for the finale.
The concert will be a special occasion because a Steinway and Sons representative will be in attendance to present the university with a plaque recognizing its distinction as an All-Steinway School.
“It shows that we are very serious,” Britt said.
