With the delivery on August 31, 2009 of 59 new Steinway pianos, Montclair State University’s John J. Cali School of Music has earned the distinction of being named an “All-Steinway School” by Steinway & Sons. The new designation means that the Cali School joins a roster of over 100 prestigious institutions—including The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Yale School of Music, and Vassar College—as an All-Steinway School.

Four moving trucks were needed to deliver the pianos to the redesigned Chapin Hall, the new home of the John J. Cali School of Music. Among them were a 9-foot Steinway concert grand piano and four 7-foot concert grands. Nine other smaller grand pianos as well as upright pianos of various sizes were also moved into the new building. Technicians then unpacked, set up, and tuned all the instruments.

Overseeing this momentous event was Geoffrey Newman, dean of Montclair State’s College of the Arts; Robert Aldridge, director of the John J. Cali School of Music; Michael Albaugh, associate director of administration for the School of Music; David Witten, associate professor of piano and program coordinator for keyboards at the School of Music; and Bethany Rose of Steinway & Sons Pianos.