All-Steinway Fundraising Effort Underway
A major donation from the Lawrence J. and Natalie Portell Foundation has kicked off UConn’s campaign to transition to an all-Steinway campus. The Portell foundation’s $50,000 gift plus $43,400 from the Alice Murray Heilig Piano Fund enabled the University to purchase a new Steinway concert grand piano, which was delivered on October 15.
The Portell foundation of New Milford manages the estate of Natalie Portell, who died in 2003. Portell, who was a dancer and musician, requested that a portion of her estate benefit the arts. The Portell foundation board selected UConn because the gift would not only satisfy Portell’s wishes, but also help the UConn School of Fine Arts achieve its goal of purchasing a Steinway concert grand piano to elevate instruction and performance capabilities, explains board member Timothy Riordan ’76 (School of Business), former president of the UConn Alumni Association.
“We felt we could make a significant contribution toward that need…and benefit the people of Connecticut,” says Riordan. He adds, “We looked at some of the local charities and made some donations there. But we also looked at the University of Connecticut, which serves the sons and daughters of Connecticut, and we wanted the donation to benefit all residents of the state.”
The Heilig fund supports instrument purchases, restoration and maintenance. Charles E. Heilig, Jr. and his late wife, Alice, have established numerous significant endowments for the School of Fine Arts as well as the UConn Health Center.
“We’re amazingly grateful to have this [piano],” says Neal Larrabee, D.M.A., associate professor of music. “It will be an enormous enhancement to our artistic community.”
Larrabee led a small committee, which included doctoral students Wen-Hui Lin and Christian Pasterello, to the Steinway & Sons showroom in New York for the final selection.
The nine-foot concert piano will be used at von der Mehden Recital Hall for special performances and degree recitals. It was unveiled at the annual Alice Murray Heilig Memorial Concert in October with a performance by world-renowned concert pianist Ann Marie McDermott.
“We are now in the position because of this new concert grand to invite any world-class artist. We were not in that position before,” explains Larrabee.
The craftsmanship of the Steinway brand is unparalleled. Steinway & Sons is considered the unequivocal premier manufacturer of pianos worldwide.
“There are very few brands of piano in the world that can hold up [to a Steinway]. Many musical artists, including myself, consider Steinway to be the instrument of choice,” says Larrabee. “They have a scope of sound—luminescence and depth—that other instruments don’t have.”
UConn has 83 pianos, including 14 Steinways, of varying ages and states at the Storrs campus. Currently, six concert pianos are being used; however, among them, only two are appropriate for performances, notes Lin. David G. Woods, dean of the School of Fine Arts, is leading the fundraising effort to transition to an all-Steinway campus.
There are only 65 all-Steinway music schools and conservatories worldwide, according to Sally Coveleskie, director of institutional sales at Steinway & Sons. The School of Music will join the ranks of other prestigious institutions, including the Juilliard School and Yale School of Music, in offering students and faculty the best instruments for teaching, practicing and performing. Furthermore, UConn is slated to be the first all-Steinway public university in New England.
The prestige of joining the all-Steinway roster will enable the School of Fine Arts to attract highly talented students from Connecticut and beyond. Additionally, the School’s reputation will enhance its standing when recruiting renowned scholars and musicians for faculty positions as well as guest lectures and performances.
“It will definitely attract more serious musicians,” says Lin. Larrabee adds that it will enable the School to expand its performances as well as host more events such as piano competitions.
