Steinway Pianos on their way to Roedean

A group of 8 Roedean pianists along with the Director of Music, Mr Rous, and piano teacher Ms Macdonald, left the UK at around 4:00am on Friday morning for a day trip to Germany that is the start of a very exciting project.

Mr Rous said: 'Holly, Charlie, Bernice, Candis, Alicia, Galina, Abi, and Tiffany. All arrived early and cheerful! Even though six of them were performing in the Evening Recital last night! At 3.50am, we set off in two taxis. There was lots of chat on the way about what the new pianos would be like and which rooms they will go in. Bernice was delighted to realise our Steinway Model B will be delivered in time for her concerto performance in the Brighton Fringe Festival Concert on 6 May.'

The group arrived at 9.30am in Hamburg for a special visit to the renowned Steinway Factory. The Steinway team met the group, and provided a tour of the factory, where the students learned about the history of Steinway and how the pianos are handcrafted by master craftsmen, using only the finest tools and materials.

The purpose of the trip is to help choose a number of magnificent pianos that will soon be on their way to Roedean. These will include

'It is important that our high-level piano players are playing on instruments that can match their talent, so that they are able to express the music in the way that they could if they had an exceptional instrument,' Mr Rous explains.

'For all of our piano players, an exceptional instrument can actually speed up their rate of progress and aid the development of their technique, allowing them to reach their potential without being limited by the instrument itself. For this reason, all of our piano lessons from April will be conducted on these new Steinway pianos; we won’t be saving them just for concerts and recitals.'

According to Steinway, over 97% of concert pianists would choose to perform on a Steinway piano, which makes it all the more exciting that the girls will have access to these prestigious instruments.

The trip to see them being crafted is a wonderful opportunity for the students, and looking to the future, there is hope that Roedean may one day become a Steinway School.