Elevating Beauty
Story: Michaela Gibbs ’28
Photos: Courtesy of Concordia Nebraska marketing
Through endowments and donations, Concordia’s All Steinway Initiative increases student musicianship and performance levels.
Due to a series of endowments and donations, Concordia University, Nebraska’s music department is well on its way to being an All Steinway institution. The All Steinway Initiative gives students reliable, world-class instruments that inspire high level musicianship and creativity.
The initiative never had an official start date, but it began when the music department faculty started to notice that their pianos were very old, not of good quality and not well maintained. As a result, the department decided to prioritize the piano inventory, and that led to the All Steinway Initiative.
The All Steinway Initiative was started to give all Concordia students access to what is considered the gold standard of pianos for instruction and performance. Playing on professional standard pianos helps music students to learn musical subtlety that would be nearly impossible to learn on a lesser instrument.
“The university is pursuing the All Steinway Initiative not because we want the newest and shiniest stuff but because we desire to honor God with our very best,” said Professor of Music Dr. Elizabeth Grimpo. “In any craft, excellent equipment will elevate human skill and achievement; mediocre equipment will limit it. Steinway pianos allow our entire music department to strive for the highest artistry. The discipline, technique and musicianship of our students (instrumentalists, vocalists and ensembles) in collaboration with a Steinway piano result in some amazing sounds.”
The university is pursuing the All Steinway Initiative not because we want the newest and shiniest stuff but because we desire to honor God with our very best.
Many people in the extended Concordia community have generously contributed to the initiative in various ways since it started. Individuals have donated funds and pianos and some have set up endowments to ensure the maintenance of the pianos.
“We are deeply grateful for the people who have contributed to this initiative so far in incredibly generous ways,” said Grimpo. “Though not all of them are musicians, they all understand the desire for excellence and the value of music, and they have a passion for elevating beauty in this world.”
The department currently has one concert grand piano, five grand pianos, one baby grand piano and 23 upright pianos. They need six more pianos to complete the initiative.
Senior music student Timothy Mars of Cody, Wyoming, started at Concordia before the Steinway Initiative officially began. He said that having better instruments to practice and learn on has had a big positive impact on his musicianship and learning.
“I was at school before the initiative took off, and I didn’t have many good instruments to practice on,” he said. “As a result, I wasn’t as motivated to practice and sometimes it was impossible to get the sound I wanted. Now, being able to practice on the highest quality of instruments has not only motivated me to practice more, but I’ve also enjoyed practicing and have learned so much more because the instrument is helping me learn instead of fighting me.”
Mars expressed his hope that once the Steinway initiative is completed, similar initiatives continue with other department instruments.
“That way brass players, strings, percussion and any other music student can have the highest quality instrument to play on.”
While the heightened musicianship and increased growth opportunities that the initiative offers to students are incredibly important, the instruments are important because they allow students to create beautiful music.
Beauty in all things points people back to the Creator. Beautiful music is no exception. Being able to create that music is as much of a privilege as being able to hear it. The All Steinway Initiative encourages the creation of beautiful music to bless the artist and the audience and to point both back to God.
Grimpo said, “Beautiful things in this life give us a glimpse of God, the source and giver of all truth, goodness and beauty, and it is our profound privilege to create music to bless others.”