IU South Bend earned the All-Steinway School distinction last fall when the Raclin School of the Arts purchased the final two pianos needed to make at least 90% of the institution’s piano collection Steinway & Sons. IU South Bend is now one of the only Steinway Schools in Indiana (the other is Ball State University), making the institution one of only 212 colleges, universities, and conservatories throughout the world with this achievement.
This is a tremendous honor for the campus, said Susan Elrod, chancellor of IU South Bend. It demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest quality music programs for students and performances for the community.
Along with earning this accomplishment comes the opportunity for a Steinway School’s faculty and staff to perform at Steinway Hall. Three students and three faculty members from IU South Bend will travel to New York City to present a March 20 concert at the venue. Faculty and students performing are, respectively, Ketevan Badridze, Jennifer Muniz, and Mariah Boucher and Gretchen Wedertz, Dylan Engquist, and You Min Lee.
It is a great honor to welcome Indiana University South Bend into the global family of All-Steinway Schools, said Sally Coveleskie, Steinway & Sons representative. The far-reaching vision of Dean Curtis, supported by Chancellor Elrod, will ensure that the students of IUSB have the best instruments possible to help them achieve their maximum potential as artists and teachers. They will always remember that their alma mater believed in them enough to make their student experience one of the most memorable and creative times in their lives. Steinway & Sons applauds IUSB’s commitment to excellence and looks forward to our ongoing partnership.
Friday’s plaque presentation took place during a concert featuring pianists Michael Mizrahi and Anthony Padilla in the Louise E Addicott and Yatish J. Joshi Performance Hall on the campus of IU South Bend. This concert was the latest in the IU South Bend Piano Series, four concerts featuring internationally recognized pianists. The next and final concert in the series is March 13 when Ursula Oppens, a prolific and critically acclaimed recording artist with five Grammy nominations, performs. Oppens is widely admired not only for her original and perceptive readings of new music, but also for her knowing interpretations of the standard repertoire.
