new to list - inquiry

[Avery Todd]

Carol,

   I definitely agree with Dave here. We currently have 135 pianos.
Out of that, 25 grands are in practice rooms, with 10 of those set
aside (and keyed separately) specifically for piano majors. Nine
of those 10 have "lease" pianos in them that are changed out every
year.
   There are 22 verticals in practice rooms. The remainder of both
are in various performance halls, classrooms, faculty studios, etc.
   We are in the process now of probably changing our lease
situation because the current dealer downgraded every instrument we
have from him at least one size and/or one quality level without
telling us about it. This is a very performance oriented school with
a very good piano program and as the head of the piano dept. said,
"Our program is getting constantly better and the instruments are
getting worse."
   I realize your situation is drastically different from mine but
if they intend to expand the program and have it grow, some decent
quality grands are an absolute necessity! With 4 very good Steinway
D's in our 2 primary performance halls, our people are SO spoiled
that even a pretty good 7' Kawai in our Choral Recital Hall is
rarely used for piano solo performances. Maybe if it was
Steinway......... :-)
   Of course, most of the graduates are in for a rude awakening when
they get out into the "real" world and discover what they're going
to have to contend with out there. :-)
   Best of luck with your proposal. Go as high as you think you can.
It's so much easier to "come down" than it will be to go up. At
least until/if the program really grows.

Avery

>For piano performance majors there's no other choice.  At that level,
>uprights just are not good enough.  They would never recruit even moderate
>players with no grands to practice on. Some literature just can't be played
>on an upright.  We have about 30 uprights in practice rooms for the
>violinists, singers etc., but 10 grands for the piano majors....and that's
>not enough.  Of course everyone would love to have a grand, but I'm not
>sure you can justify the cost for a kid to work out his theory homework.
>
>dave
>
>David M. Porritt
>dporritt@swbell.net
>Meadows School of the Arts
>Southern Methodist University
>Dallas, TX 75275