A Magnificent Gift: Our New Steinway Spirio|r Concert Grand Piano
Published on 27/05/25
At the beginning of the Easter holidays, we were thrilled to take delivery of a magnificent gift from Stephen Perse Cambridge parent, Rose Jiang: a Steinway Spirio|r Concert Grand Piano, made even more special by it being the first delivery of its kind to any UK independent school.
The piano’s first public performance was at the Stephen Perse Guild Reunion on 26 April, and like Stephen Perse Cambridge itself is rooted in tradition, moving with the times - it blends excellence in traditional craftsmanship with remarkable new teaching technology. For example, a maestro in New York’s Steinway Hall can now lead a live masterclass here in Cambridge, with the keys moving in real time and the music heard exactly as played, not through speakers or compressed audio. It also means a parent overseas - say, in Shanghai - can visit a Steinway showroom and hear their child’s performance from Cambridge live. Students can practise with accompaniments recorded by their fellow musicians, teachers or maestros, prepare for concerts and explore endless musical possibilities.
The Steinway Spirio|r opens up new and exciting avenues to further enhance our already outstanding musical provision, as exemplified by the significant number of students taking GCSE and A Level Music and taking individual instrument lessons, and our co-curricular programme with seven choirs, eight chamber music ensembles in regular rehearsal, Big Band and Rock School. Our music programme is enjoyed by everyone throughout the school and led at student level by our Music scholars and by our expert Music Department staff, headed by Matthew Rudd and Cherry Blanchard.
Alongside her gift of the wonderful Steinway piano, Rose also made a gift to the Guild Opportunities Fund to support bursary and scholarship students in accessing educational and co-curricular opportunities, such as our “rare breeds” orchestral instrument lessons and joining the school’s music tours.
You can learn more about how staff and students visited Steinway Hall in London last term to choose the piano, see highlights of the delivery and enjoy excerpts of some of our most talented musicians getting to know the piano on delivery day in this film, kindly made by our colleagues at Steinway & Sons.
Once again we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Rose and her children for this extraordinary gift, which will be enjoyed by current and future generations and allow us to further develop our outstanding musical opportunities for students. It will truly embody how independent thinking leads to exceptional outcomes!