July 9^th, 2009



Friends, I am delighted to be able to bring this installment of From the President's Desk to you in person. I know that we are inundated at this time with less than exciting news from around the world, but I can't help but be excited about so many of the wonderful things happening here, not only at Hall Piano Company, but in our beloved city.  
As I review the past few months, I have to start with the reopening of the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts and the weeklong festivities that brought world renown talent to our amazing city to help celebrate this rebirth.   The theater has never looked or felt better than it does right now and the quality of the programming by our opera, ballet and symphony is absolutely world class. 

                In January, I had the pleasure of traveling to the Steinway factory in New York with a selection committee from Nicholls State University to select a new concert grand for the theater in Talbot Hall.  The funds for this purchase came from private sources and creative fund raising by the staff and the development department.  This stands as a testament to their commitment to excellence and stalwart dedication to providing the best possible learning environment for their students, regardless of the daily news.

                April was filled with the sights and sounds of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  I am pleased to say that again, in 2009, the Jazz Festival was an Official All-Steinway Event.  Steinway Grand Pianos graced each stage and were very well received by the many grateful performing artists as well as concert goers.  Over 400,000 tickets were sold and we experienced the largest one day attendance since 2001.  This was certainly good news for our city.

                May was ushered in by the artistic stylings of young budding virtuosi as Hall Piano Company hosted student recitals for 23 local piano teachers.  Each year, I am amazed by the love and support shown by the families of these talented students as near capacity crowds at each recital seemed to be the norm rather than the exception.  Once again, over 2000 teachers, parents, grand-parents, students and friends participated in these concerts.

                We now have the privilege of officially welcoming many new friends to the Hall Piano Company family including; Gethsemane Baptist Church, Nicholls State University, La Pavillon Hotel, Mount Carmel Academy, Pleasant Valley Baptist Church,  St. Scholastica Academy, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, the Royal Sonesta Hotel, Little Farms United Church of Christ, Lakeview Christian Center and Caffin Avenue 7^th Day Adventist church, just to name a few.  Their decision to do business with Hall Piano Company speaks to their confidence in the quality of products offered, service before and after delivery, and their overall experience at Hall Piano Company.

                The Steinway Society of New Orleans, I am proud to report, is continuing to grow and assist local organizations in their acquisition of Steinway Designed pianos for schools, houses of worship and other arts and performance venues.  To date, the society has contributed nearly $50,000 to local organizations and our newly launched website features the stories of each partnership as well as a new searchable database designed to connect our local piano teachers with prospective students.  Visit the society's website at www.steinwaysocietyofneworleans.com. 

                Once again, our beloved city will play host to some of the most exciting talent in the concert piano world in July.  The 2009 New Orleans International Piano Competition for Young Artists will feature the next generation of concert pianists 14 to 18 years of age.  This year's event will once again be hosted at Loyola University's Roussell Hall featuring the exclusive use of Steinway Concert and Artist grand pianos.   For the first time ever, the event will be broadcast live on the internet at the Hall Piano Company website.  This will be terrific for friends and families around the world that will want to cheer their favorite competitor on as well as fans of the competition worldwide that were unable to travel to New Orleans this for this event.

 Feel free to email me regarding any details about this very exciting event, details of the Steinway Society of New Orleans' Educational and Religious Trust, or regarding anything else of interest to you.  See you at the competition