L.A. Valley College Named the 200th All-Steinway School

The Los Angeles Valley College celebrated becoming the 200th All-Steinway School on Saturday, March 17, 2018. LAVC joins a prestigious list colleges, universities and conservatories who are known worldwide as “All-Steinway Schools”.

The celebration kicked off with an LAVC Music Department Open House and Tour, which had Steinway and Boston (also made by Steinway) pianos on display in various classrooms and music labs. The celebration culminated in an evening concert by the Valley Symphony Orchestra featuring, of course, a new Steinway Grand piano. Joining the Valley Symphony Orchestra were the LAVC Wind Ensemble, the LAVC Chamber Singers and College Choir, and various soloists.

During the concert intermission, Steinway and Sons representative Tim Stephenson presented a plaque to LAVC President Dr. Erika Endrijonas recognizing LAVC as the 200th All-Steinway School, and the first in the San Fernando Valley.

“We are very happy to have Los Angeles Valley College join a growing group of institutions with an affiliation to Steinway,” said Stephenson. “By becoming an All-Steinway School, LAVC and its Music Program represent a commitment to musical excellence allowing its faculty and students access to the finest equipment for the study as well as the performance of music.”

Dr. Endrijonas accepted the plaque and addressed the two hundred concert attendees. “This is an incredible moment for Valley College!” she said. “When I arrived here nearly four year ago, members of the Music Department informed me that our fleet of twenty-two pianos were old and in very poor condition. The time had come to replace our old pianos, and Music faculty Michael Arshagouni and Yih-Mei Hu, and Music Department Chair Christian Nova, through their diligence, proposed an alliance with Steinway and Sons.”

LAVC acquired eighteen of the twenty-two pianos from Steinway and Sons from the college’s equipment budget. The final four pianos were acquired with the assistance of the LAVC Foundation, which entered into a lease-to-own agreement with a Steinway finance company.

The LAVC Foundation also hosted a special reception for some of its patrons prior to the concert to announce a forthcoming fundraising campaign. The goal of the LAVC Steinway Campaign is to raise about $340,000 to pay off early its lease, which acquired the Steinway pianos for the college. It will also raise an additional $1 million to establish an endowment for the pianos’ maintenance.

“We are very excited to be conducting this campaign,” said LAVC Foundation Executive Director Raul Castillo. “The All-Steinway school announcement has generated excitement as well as interest from our supporters. As a result, the Foundation has already received verbal commitments to contribute to the campaign.”

For more information about the LAVC becoming an All-Steinway School or the Steinway Campaign, please call Raul Castillo at (818) 947-2618.

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About the LAVC Foundation

The Los Angeles Valley College Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that broadens educational opportunities for Los Angeles Valley College’s students. Established in 1971, it is designated to receive gifts for the college from individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, visit the LAVC Foundation website.

About Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC)

Los Angeles Valley College, established in 1949, is a public two-year community college situated in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. LAVC provides residents of the San Fernando Valley community with transfer education, career technical education and training, and lifelong learning opportunities. As one of the largest campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), it serves more than 20,000 students in the communities of Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Panorama City, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Encino. LAVC offers more than 100 associate degree programs and 62 certificate programs in in-demand career fields. The college is currently undergoing a $620 million renovation and building project funded by voter-supported Proposition A/AA and Measure J. For more information, visit the Los Angeles Valley College website.