All-Steinway Lipscomb University Adds Programs, Achieves Milestone

As seen in the Winter 2016 edition of the Steinway Chronicle.

NASHVILLE, TN – In true entrepreneurial spirit, one of Music City’s newest All-Steinway schools has created two undergraduate programs to meet the changing needs of a multi-billion dollar industry.

Lipscomb University celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2016 with more than 4,600 students, a reported increase of 86 percent over the last decade. Meanwhile, the School of Music recently added songwriting and music production to its more traditional offerings. A 2013 Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce study showed the music business supports more than 56,000 jobs with a total economic impact of $9.65 billion.

Jerome Reed, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Piano, sees the All-Steinway designation as a key to future growth. “Providing students with the best possible equipment will help them rise to the highest level of musicianship,” he said.

Left: McMeen Music Center on the campus of Lipscomb University.  Right: Dr. Jerome Reed proudly displays the newly presented All-Steinway School plaque with Steinway Artists Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, Rhonda Lowry and her husband, Dr. L. Randolph Lowry III, President of Lipscomb University.

Lipscomb’s quest began in 2007 when Dr. Reed went to the New York selection room to choose a new Steinway Model D concert grand for the recently renovated Ward Hall. Working in step with Brandon Herrenbruck at Steinway Piano Gallery Nashville over the last eight years, Lipscomb now has more than 20 Steinway-designed grand and upright pianos.

“Being able to tell students they will practice and perform on a Steinway is a big recruiting tool,”  Dr. Reed said. “Being an All-Steinway School indicates a high level of quality, so they transfer that idea to mean all other areas of the school are of the same quality.”

“Becoming an All-Steinway School is one of the best things about being a student at Lipscomb.  The instrument quality is so much higher than any other piano.  It’s really exciting to be a part of.”

Regarding the move to All-Steinway, Mike Fernandez, Dean of Lipscomb’s College of Entertainment and the Arts, said: “We are making a statement that we are serious about music.”

A Christian faith-based institution affiliated with the Churches of Christ, Lipscomb University was founded in 1891 by David Lipscomb and James A. Harding as the Nashville Bible School.