pianos, and comes equipped with the sound of the Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand piano. It offers an authentic Graded Hammer acoustic piano playability and comfort; recording and playback capabilities; attractive wood cabinetry, and the signature piano craftsmanship for which Yamaha is renowned.
“In the new piano lab, students enjoy high-quality keyboards that, to a great degree, mimic a real piano action, and have a relatively vast dynamic range and touch response for a digital instrument,” says Dr. Ruti Abramovitch, professor of Piano and director of Honors Chambers Ensembles for VanderCook. “Each keyboard contains several voice options in addition to piano, which allow students to vary instrumentation to their liking. With this advanced technological piano system, they benefit from being able to work on their skills both individually – using their headphones – as well as collaborate with each other and perform in duets or groups.”
The music lab is expandable to accommodate classes as large as 48 students, and offers multiple options for private practice, one-on-one instruction, small group study or full class ensemble performances. With the Wi-Fi kit, teachers may easily move around the classroom to provide hands-on instruction, and can control the lab with an iPad, make notes on student performance and attendance, and access their own iPad music library for classroom broadcast.
“While most schools have a music education major along with performance, music history and other majors, VanderCook’s graduates teach band, orchestra and choir in primarily middle and high schools,” says Dan Rodowicz, national sales manager, Institutional Solutions Group, Yamaha Corporation of America. “We wanted them to experience and become familiar with a very good quality keyboard action at a price that can make sense for music educators who must work within limited budgets. In addition, the Arius model has a very nice trimline design that is perfect for space requirements.”
Each year, VanderCook’s 125 undergraduate and 200 graduate students, 1,000 continuing education students and teachers, and more than 15,000 individuals who attend clinics, workshops and festivals at the school will use the lab. The College of Music previously acquired seven Yamaha NU1 upright pianos for their practice rooms