Gilmour Academy Will Only Have World Class Pianos

GATES MILLS, OH - Gilmour Academy will soon be replacing all of its on-campus pianos with Steinway & Sons grand pianos. The school added three such pianos to their facilities recently and is now in the process of becoming a Steinway Select K-12 School, which simply means that all of the pianos on-campus will be Steinway & Sons grand pianos. Gilmour will become the first school in the Midwest to achieve this designation. Only a little more than 175 schools across the world have the All Steinway distinction.

The Steinway Select honor is reminiscent to the All Steinway School distinction that is bestowed upon colleges that only use Steinway & Sons grand pianos. A completed process will look like this for Gilmour: 10 new Steinway & Sons grand pianos, including a Steinway Spirio for the Tudor House and a Steinway Model D Concert Grand for the still-being-built Center for the Performing Arts.

So who's footing the bill for all these pianos? Alumnus Matthew Figgie is who. Figgie graduated from Gilmour in 1984 and now has children that attend the school. He heads up The Figgie Foundation and Figgie Capital.

“During this season of giving, I am truly honored and sincerely humbled to be able to give this heartfelt gift of the finest pianos in the world to my cherished alma mater, Gilmour Academy," Figgie said in a statement. "These Steinway & Sons grand pianos are yet another strategic step in the overall elevation and transformation of Gilmour Academy as one of the nation’s premier academic, artistic and athletic institutions of higher learning."

A spokesperson for Gilmour said that with the new pianos, the school is evaluating new programming to incorporate the gifts.

Currently, the school offers Music and Movement, drama, and Kindermusic in its Lower School. Students can also join the choir, the Gilmour Singer, or take individual music lessons. All Gilmour Middle School students participate in either concert band or theater arts.

Finally, at the Upper School, students can be part of the Gilmour Pops Ensemble, AP Music Theory, Digital Music, Audio Engineering, Technical Theater and more. There are also extracurriculars like drama club, music mentor, music ministry, and competitive speech.

Photos from Gilmour Academy