Malvern College is to become an All-Steinway School a prestigious accolade that will transform the school’s music-making. Thanks to an anonymous donation of over £600,000, the College’s current pianos will be replaced by 37 Steinway instruments, including an upright in each of the 11 boarding houses, numerous practice pianos and two top-of-the-range concert grands. The biggest is a spectacular 9-foot ‘Model D’, destined for recitals in Big School, the College’s main performance space. The project is part of an ambitious year-long £2.5 million refurbishment of Malvern’s historic Music School, which will improve the heating, sound proofing and acoustics, too. The College is also trying to raise around £1.5 million to replace its Chapel organ.
Several of Malvern’s music scholars and star pianists visited Steinway’s London showroom in mid-January to choose the Big School instrument and another group travelled out to the firm’s Hamburg factory soon afterwards to select the rest of the pianos and get a taste of the city’s cultural life. The first delivery of pianos is due at the end of the Lent term with the final delivery on completion of the refurbishment of the Music School next year.
“It’s really exciting that Malvern is becoming one of just 16 senior independent All-Steinway Schools in Britain,” said the College’s Director of Music, Jonathan Brown.
“The other establishments are mainly specialist music schools and conservatoires. This will give each pupil access to the finest pianos in the world, as everyone will be taught on a Steinway. It will draw attention to the great music-making here and boost the level of pupils’ engagement; they feel huge pride that their school is giving them the very best.”
“Having instruments of this quality will enable us to stage high-level events and masterclasses, attracting top pianists to perform here, as well as giving our pupils exciting performance opportunities at the Steinway concert halls in London and New York. It will help us attract committed pianists to Malvern College.
I was very excited when the College agreed to the refurbishment of the Music School. Work will start this summer – and our superb new pianos will be a centrepiece of the project, underlining Malvern’s commitment to musical excellence.”