KEENE, NH – After a yearslong project, Keene State College has achieved the designation of All-Steinway School.

According to Steinway and Son’s website, an All-Steinway school is an institution that “provides students and faculties with the finest Steinway pianos possible for the study of music in higher education.”

In a news release Monday Keene State said a grant from the Putnam Foundation made the purchase of a Steinway & Sons Spirio | r Concert Grand piano possible, and it completes the 18-piano fleet needed for Keene State’s All-Steinway designation.

Among the conditions to achieve the designation is 90% or more of the acoustic pianos owned by an institution must be Steinways, and Steinways must be placed in all performance spaces, all performance rehearsal spaces, all piano teaching studios, and all piano major practice rooms.

The release says All-Steinway schools are funded through fiscal budgets, donors, or a combination. At Keene State, the Music Department uses institutionally budgeted funds to purchase one upright Steinway, but the rest came from donors, and every Keene State student practice module and classroom now has one of the pianos.

Marilyn Shiver, Director of Development at Keene State said All-Steinway, All Together raised $803,697 from 161 donors.

“Pianos are the backbone of any music program, and thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, Keene State’s music programs now have the finest pianos,” Shriver said. “These instruments are known to last at least 30 years, so every gift is a meaningful investment in the performing arts and arts education in the Monadnock Region.”

Keene State is the second public institution in New England to reach All-Steinway status, and is one of just more than 200 colleges, universities, and conservatories worldwide. It’s also the third in the All-Steinway family to adopt the Spirio technology for the concert stage and institutional use.

In March a delegation of Keene State representatives and All-Steinway, All Together donors will travel to the Steinway Factory in New York to see the pianos being built and take a tour of the factory.