NEMCC starts fundraising campaign for state-of-the-art Steinway & Sons piano
Aug. 26—BOONEVILLE — Northeast Mississippi Community College recently launched a fundraising campaign to purchase a new Steinway and Sons Spirio — r piano infused with state-of-the-art technology.
The 88 Keys campaign, named for the number of keys on a standard piano, was launched by the Northeast Development Foundation in July. It has raised more than $12,000 thus far with an end goal to raise $180,000 to cover the full cost of the piano.
The Steinway grand piano is the gold standard of musical instruments, NEMCC said, and the Spirio — r model has added features that will allow students to record and hear themselves play, along with allowing faculty to record accompaniments for other singers and instrumentalists.
That will allow students multiple opportunities to rehearse before recitals, whereas normally they would only be allowed one or two run-throughs because of the sheer number of music majors at Northeast, according to Dr. Ray Harris, head of the Division of Fine Arts at NEMCC.
NEMCC is currently home to a couple of Steinway & Sons pianos, which are house in the Hines Hall music building, but none like the Spirio — r model.
But as Harris puts it, "the rest of our pianos are just pianos."
"This has all of that additional technology," he said. "It's a piano plus."
With the Spirio — r, students can listen and play along with thousands of pieces performed by legendary pianists and stored in a cloud library via an iPad attached to the piano. They can also view live performances as they are streamed, through the piano and video projection.
If someone were playing a Steinway Spirio in a recital in Seattle, Northeast's piano could mirror exactly what that musician was playing in real time, Harris said.
The plan is to store the piano in Hines Hall, in a room that will allow daily access for students, where it can easily be moved to the auditorium stage as well.
Patrick Eaton, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Foundation and Alumni Association, said college leaders visited Oxford High School to check out a Steinway Spirio — r in use there before launching the fundraiser. They decided having one of their own would be a game changer for music students.
"We're always trying to be the best we possibly can be on campus here at Northeast Mississippi Community College," Eaton said.
The college was designated an Apple Distinguished School in 2020 after universally implementing iPads for students, setting it apart in the realm of technology. Eaton said he'd like to see Northeast become an All-Steinway School, which is a title reserved for schools that "demonstrate a full commitment to excellence by providing their students and faculties with the best instruments possible for the study of music," according to Steinway's website.
"For years to come, as students come through Northeast, I'd like for them to be able to be exposed to the very best, whether that comes to technology or to musical instruments," Eaton said.
Individuals interested in contributing to the campaign can visit nemcc.edu/88keys.
