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Steinway & Sons | Summer 2006
Cleveland Institution's Dedication Honored
The prestige of becoming an All-Steinway School is sought after by a multitude of educational institutions. The rapidly growing program now encompasses 57 institutions worldwide. Steinway & Sons recently recognized Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) with a plaque to honor the institution's exclusive use Steinways since its inception in 1920.
The All-Steinway School program recognizes schools and institutions in which "90 percent of its pianos are designed by Steinway & Sons," says Sally Coveleskie, director of institutional sales for Steinway. Additional criteria factors in, of course, as Coveleskie notes that the school's "commitment to excellence and to the maintenance of the instruments" is vital when she and a team of several other Steinway representatives from marketing and customer service divisions consider a school for the All-Steinway School honor.
Paul Schenly heads up the piano department at Cleveland Institute of Music. The longtime fan of Steinways played a vital role in the initiative of becoming an All-Steinway School. Schenly has a long history with Steinway pianos. He studied at the Institute during the late '60s under the instruction of then-director Victor Babin, of the famed Vronsky-Babin piano duo. "I became a Steinway artist myself, and I've always preferred to play on them," he says. Schenly knows and appreciates the value of the Steinway brand, and he's very pleased to have studied with Steinway pianos and now be teaching among them at CIM.
"There is not a more distinguished piano, and you always wants the best for your students," says Schenly, who's still teaching on the same piano that he received lessons on 30 years ago from Babin. "It's a part of my life," he says affectionately of the M model. Schenly's star-studded ensemble of CIM students enjoys the same luxury of education on a Steinway that Schenly was afforded—stars such as Orion Weiss, a graduate of CIM's Young Artist Program, which incorporates music into the education of high schools. Weiss performed with the Cleveland Orchestra while in high school, won the Gilmore Young Artist Award, went on to receive the Avery Fisher Award and is currently studying at The Juilliard School.
Keeping with the theme of success is Martin Leung, a sophomore at CIM. His claim to fame has been a virtual one. Leung "achieved notoriety on the Internet as the blindfolded artist," says Schenly. "More than four million people have heard him in this venue." The young pianist composes music to accompany video games "has a traditional side as well," says his teacher. Leung's talents are multi-faceted, and his "talent has manifested itself through discipline and hard work. Part of his charm is that the student is "playing for an audience that he helped create," says Schenly, and thus has helped yet another generation appreciate an excellent source of music. Originally from Texas, Michael Schneider has risen to the top of his class at CIM as well. In addition to the many prizes he's won, he created his own music festival in the Lonestar State. St. Angelo Music Festival, modeled after PianoFest (an annual summer festival held in the Hamptons), centers on teaching and showcases notable musicians from around the globe.
Hearing the pride in Schenly's voice as he praises his piano students is warming. He's most enthused that the students make pathways of their own and spread the joy of pianos across the networks. "All these artists that study on Steinway pianos teach and perform throughout the world, and in the process create new generations of Steinway artists. By and large, they're true to their instrumental roots," says Schenly. "Teaching and sharing classical music has never been more relevant. We have a chance to educate and to bring with this education the beauty and satisfaction that the arts have to offer. By doing so, society may improve itself, and we will have played a role in the process."
Another enthusiastic fan of the Steinways in the school is head piano technician Jeffrey Krill, who was, at one time, a student at CIM himself in the late '70s. Krill ensures that all the pianos are finely tuned and sometimes teaches students how pianos operate. He says that Steinways "are great to work with because they stay in tune very well," and because of their "heavy use" by the students and faculty, the pianos persevere and continue to proved excellent sound and pleasure to its users. "They're tough pianos." Crafted for a lifetime of use and much appreciated for this, the Steinways at CIM are never lonely.
Krill says CIM has always purchased Steinways, most of which came to the music school during the '60s. "We really appreciate having Steinways, and we look forward to a long relationship with them," says Krill. In addition to the prestige that accompanies being named an All-Steinway School, Krill says also that "prospective students note the condition and kind of pianos that we have here" which certainly ups the ante in the competition for recruitment.
The Cleveland Institute of Music has more than 400 conservatory students, and it is currently undergoing an expansion that is "the largest undertaking in CIM's 86-year history," says Susan Schwartz, director of marketing and communications at the institute. "We are building for a dynamic future. The expansion was designed with student and faculty needs in mind." CIM reaches out to members of its community as well. In addition to offering the latest in acoustics and technology, Schwartz says the 36,000-square-foot expansion "will incorporate and will be well equipped to provide our community with greater access to classical music and ensure CIM's place at the forefront of music education for generations to come."
With this expansion comes a new 250-seat recital hall, says Schwartz. "Some of the features at Mixon Hall will include expansive areas of glass, state-of-the-art acoustics designed for recitals and chamber music and a unique glass wall at the rear of the stage allowing concert-goers to enjoy all the seasons as they view a special garden, even at night when it will be lighted." The newest Steinway concert grand at CIM was built in 1998, and Krill says there are plans to purchase a new concert grand at the end of the second phase of the current expansion. It will most certainly be a Steinway.
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