Artist-in-Residence Yakov Kasman initiated the new Steinway pianos during the dedication of UAB as an All-Steinway School Monday, Sept. 10.

A ceremony dedicating UAB as an All-Steinway School was hosted by the UAB Department of Music Monday, Sept. 10 in the Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall.

“To the novice concert-goer, to the seasoned listener, to the pianist whose name is known around the world, a Steinway piano represents a level of craftsmanship that cannot be surpassed,” said music department Chair Jeff W. Reynolds, D.M.A. “For UAB to have become the first and only All-Steinway School in the state of Alabama sends the clear message that we are serious about training the performers and teachers of tomorrow.”

The department purchased 32 Steinway pianos earlier this year from their Birmingham dealer, Forbes Piano Co., after faculty members traveled to the Steinway factory in New York to select the instruments.

Attending the dedication ceremony were Sally Covaleskie of Steinway & Sons and French Forbes III of Forbes Piano Co., along with UAB deans, vice presidents, arts and humanities chairs, music faculty members and donors whose efforts made it possible to purchase the Steinway pianos.

The dedication included a reception, presentation, short film and recital by Yakov Kasman, Ph.D., assistant professor of piano and artist-in-residence in the department, and students Cahill Smith, Rosita Ruiz, and Dahae and Eunhae Bae performing works by Chopin, Verdi-Liszt, Glinka-Liszt and Prokofiev.

The department has 170 music majors and serves more than 2,000 students each year. Concerts from guest artists and a 32-hour “pian-a-thon” are among the plans for a yearlong celebration of the designation, Reynolds said.

UAB is among 72 schools of music in the world designated as All-Steinway Schools.