About GW

GW Goes All Steinway

Largest Gift in Music Department History sets GW apart

From the Budokan in Tokyo, to the Bokamoso Youth Centre in South Africa, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, GW musicians have performed around the world—but it starts in Foggy Bottom. Practicing countless hours a week in addition to classes and coursework, student-musicians put music at the center of their GW education.

Now, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the dedication of GW's student-pianists will be matched by the quality of GW's instruments. As part of the largest gift in department history, GW's Music Department will soon boast 28 new Steinway-designed pianos, making GW an official all-Steinway university. This elite designation is shared by a small number of schools nationwide, and places GW in the company of Juilliard, Yale, and the Curtis Institute of Music.

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"We are so appreciative of this very generous commitment to enrich the lives of our students and broaden the scope of our music programs," said Peg Barratt, dean of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to providing the necessary funds for the pianos, the donor also contributed to the GW Power & Promise Fund, the University's student aid initiative, in support of a new scholarship as well as to the existing George Steiner Music Scholarship fund.

"This extraordinary gift allows us to offer our students American musical craft at its best," said Karen Ahlquist, chair of the Music Department. "These instruments will bring out the essence of the music performed on them and handsomely reward the effort of practice."

Played in major concert halls across the world, Steinway pianos are widely recognized as one of the most prestigious instruments in the industry. GW's new pianos will be used in the department’s teaching studios, practice rooms, performance hall, and recording studio; one will also be placed in President Knapp's home at the F Street House. The pianos include a concert grand for Lisner Auditorium, nine other Steinway grand pianos, and 18 Steinway-designed Boston pianos.

The Music Department—which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year—is part of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the largest of the University's academic units with more than 40 departments and programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies. Columbian College provides the foundation for GW's commitment to the liberal arts and a broad education for all students. An internationally recognized faculty and active partnerships with prestigious research institutions place Columbian College at the forefront in advancing policy, enhancing culture, and transforming lives through research and discovery.

Thanks to Fox News 5 for their coverage of the delivery of the Steinway pianos to GW.

For more information on how to support the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, or the Music Department, please contact Barb Tesner at 202-994-5432 or btesner@gwu.edu.

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