Thanks to everyone that has responded to my questions, on list and off. I have received a lot of great insight and ideas. Realistically, I don't see how this is ever going to happen here. We would basically have to buy some 100 new Steinways and I just don't see us raising 3-4 million dollars. However, I have really been enlightened with ideas of using this to get the ball rolling and start discussion. Plus, the new director knows the program and is very interested in pursuing it. If he's got the experience and the energy, I'd love to see where it takes us. Thanks again to everyone. I've saved all the responses and I will really be able to use the info you provided. Chris On May 2, 2008, at 2:37 PM, Fred Sturm wrote: > Hi Chris, > I would advise using this as an opportunity. I think going through > the workload formula is a good exercise, as a way of evaluating > what you have and creating a basis for deciding what you want to or > ought to do. You are right that the Steinway folks will essentially > be saying that you need to replace most of the inventory, and will > give a couple models (various proportions of Steinway versus > Boston) for price - not terribly helpful, really, since you can > easily look up MSRP and subtract the fairly standard 25% > institutional discount without their help. I wouldn't put too much > effort into their evaluation of your inventory (I went through this > three times over the years, and what I did was to provide a > spreadsheet or database printout of models, serial numbers and > locations). > But this does give an opportunity to raise the issue of the state > of the inventory, and what needs to be done over a long term. I > would suggest doing your utmost to be included in the meetings, > providing your own input as the technician - emphasizing that the > service component is just as important as what instruments the > department has. I wouldn't comment too much on the all-Steinway > concept (at least in public, maybe express reservations privately > to individuals), but let it happen if it is going to. There could > very well be many up sides for you and for the institution. > But at the same time, I would develop a sustainable long term > plan, based on on-going replacement, rebuilding (and possibly > remanufacture), and general maintenance, with a rational annual > budget attached. Or perhaps a couple of plans, one "ideal" and one > "practical." And then, when and if they decide the all-Steinway > option is too rich for their blood, you present an alternative. > They are already thinking of making a change, attention is focused, > take advantage. > Where does the money for an all-Steinway switch come from? Well, > part of the program is that Steinway provides free consultant help > in raising money (it's part of their marketing budget). They will > help develop a plan for raising money, working with the development > office or with upper administration types. Even if it doesn't come > to anything in terms of actually doing the all-Steinway thing, the > process might set things in motion for your department/school to > initiate a serious fund-raising/endowment program. UNM (and our > department) has only started to get serious about that in the last > decade or two, but it has begun to have very positive results. The > university, though a state entity, actually only receives 20-25% of > its funds from state allocations. It seems like this is a fairly > common model for state schools these days. Our department has > started to see real results from a sustained effort at building its > own sources of money, especially in the area of scholarship > endowment. And various student course fees give us the flexibility > to do a number of very important practical things, including piano > things. > Regards, > Fred Sturm > University of New Mexico > fssturm at unm.edu > > > > On May 1, 2008, at 8:07 AM, Christopher Purdy wrote: > >> The piano faculty here have got the Steinway school bug and I need >> to learn more about this. Could some of you who have experience >> with this designation please give me some advice on how to >> proceed? What are the real benefits of going through this >> process? What is the down side? >> >> We have some 80 practice rooms (115 total pianos). The thought of >> 80 1098's or Bostons makes my stomach churn. Of course, I would >> love to replace or upgrade our grands. We currently have less >> than 20 Steinway grands. >> >> Which leads me to my main gripe, who is going to pay for this? It >> seems to me that we should begin this process by starting with the >> budget. Otherwise I think we're just window shopping at the >> Porsche dealership. At this point I'm worried about my annual >> contract renewal. And there just aren't that many music school >> alumni out there that can drop a check for 3-4 million. >> >> The local Steinway dealer says that the first step is for him to >> come down for 2-3 days and do a total inventory assessment. Will >> spending this time building their data base be beneficial? Or >> will we be wasting the Porsche salesman's time. I have been >> meaning to download the CAUT data base and doing this myself. >> Would it still be beneficial, or better than the Steinway spread >> sheet. In my pessimism, I can't imagine the Steinway data base >> isn't going to lean favorably toward spending as much money as >> possible. >> >> I would be really interested in hearing others experience with >> this. Thanks for your time. >> >> Chris >> >> >> >> Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T. >> Registered Piano Technician >> School of Music, Ohio University >> Rm. 311, Robt. Glidden Hall >> Athens, OH 45701 >> Office (740) 593-1656 >> Cell (740) 590-3842 >> fax (740) 593-1429 >> http://www.ohiou.edu/music >> >> > Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T. Registered Piano Technician School of Music, Ohio University Rm. 311, Robt. Glidden Hall Athens, OH 45701 Office (740) 593-1656 Cell (740) 590-3842 fax (740) 593-1429 http://www.ohiou.edu/music -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20080502/329986ac/attachment-0001.html
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