Celebrating Excellence: Steinway at Meredith
For more than a century, Meredith College has been educating women as musicians … and for nearly 150 years, Steinway has crafted the world’s finest pianos.

Meredith’s distinguished music program is taking an important step forward in its pursuit of excellence through a campaign to become an All-Steinway campus.

How You Can Help
The total cost of the campaign is $3.2 million. Your financial contribution will give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are supporting women’s education, enhancing Meredith’s excellent music program, and providing the best tools available for tomorrow’s artists and teachers. Your gift will also enhance the listening experience of audiences who attend concerts at Meredith. And, because Steinways are made in Queens, New York, you will be investing in an American company known worldwide for its craftsmanship.

You can support this project by donating for specific or general needs. Naming opportunities are available and can be tailored to fit your wishes.

To learn how you can support Meredith College’s All-Steinway campaign, please contact Billie Jo Kennedy Cockman, '79, by phone at (919) 760-8371

Campaign Information
The nine-phase campaign to become an All-Steinway campus is already underway. Phase 1, which involved the acquisition of a Steinway D for Carswell Concert Hall, is complete. The College is in Phase 2 of the campaign.

Ultimately, the campaign will provide 67 pianos, ensuring that all pianos at Meredith—from practice rooms to performance spaces—are Steinways. Just as important, the campaign establishes an endowment for maintenance, refurbishment and replacement of the instruments.

Why All-Steinway?

Excellence
The name Steinway is associated with excellence, and becoming an All-Steinway school is an affirmation of Meredith’s commitment to quality. More than 90 percent of the world's active concert pianists choose to perform on Steinway pianos exclusively.

Becoming an All-Steinway school will place Meredith among the ranks of select music schools, including The Juilliard School, Yale University School of Music and Oberlin College Conservatory. We will be the first college or university in North Carolina to achieve this distinction.

Recruitment
As an All-Steinway campus, Meredith’s ability to recruit and retain the best students and faculty will be dramatically enhanced. All music students will benefit, from piano performance majors to voice students who are accompanied on Steinways. The association with Steinway also has powerful implications for the reputation of the College as a whole, which heightens our ability to attract strong students in other academic areas.

Investment
A gift to the All-Steinway campaign represents an investment in the College’s mission to educate women. It is also an investment in a tangible resource for the College that will appreciate over time. According to Forbes, over the past 10 years, the retail value of a Steinway concert grand has appreciated nearly 200 percent. Steinway vertical pianos sell, on average, at a price 2.2 times higher than their original cost.

Music at Meredith College
Meredith College has long been known for our exceptional music program. When the program began in 1899, Henri Appy, director of music, taught piano, violin and music theory. In the more than 100 years since, graduates have distinguished themselves in careers as solo performers, composers, public school music educators, college professors and studio teachers.

With talented faculty members who are committed to providing the best tools for our students, becoming an All-Steinway campus is a natural next step in the advancement of Meredith’s music program.