We are delighted to share the news that St Anne’s is to be the first college in Oxford to achieve the status of an All-Steinway School. This places St Anne’s in a unique position within Oxford as a centre of musical excellence, the prestige of which will be a huge boost to our college only a few months before eight faculties from the Humanities Division move to the neighbouring Schwarzman Centre in September 2025.
“Steinway & Sons have been crafting the finest grand pianos in the world for over 160 years. They are dedicated to uncompromising craftsmanship that demands the highest standard of quality, ensuring Steinway pianos remain the epitome of elegance, expression and excellence.” [Steinway.co.uk]
Steinway pianos are world-renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship, quality, and longevity; they are the preferred choice for international concert halls and countless professional musicians. The arrival of outstanding pianos – in our practice rooms, performance spaces, and social areas – will not only celebrate the many outstanding musicians, and musical activities, at St Anne’s; they will enable valuable opportunities for outreach and development. From casual playing to professional-level recitals, we hope the significance of St Anne’s College becoming an All-Steinway School will be apparent to the entire college community.
The All-Steinway School accreditation is given to institutions that partner with Steinway & Sons for the provision of their pianos. In addition to replacing all our pianos with new instruments for use by all college members, the partnership will include opportunities for Steinway scholarships, masterclasses with Steinway artists, outreach activities, and performances at Steinway’s halls worldwide. This prestigious designation ensures the highest quality instruments for all students and staff, no matter their subject or musical interests.
Prof John Traill (Director of Music) commented that ‘the arrival of seven new pianos in college will enable us to build on an already superb portfolio of performing activities – whether it be the college recital series, outreach programmes with the community, social music in the JCR or bar, performances with college ensembles, or private practice, enabling all college members to have access to high quality instruments is central to ethos of inclusion and access. St Anne’s takes pride in collaborating with local partners and welcoming musicians into college – e.g. the Oxfordshire Concerto Competition, Music Across the Pond, Oxford Conducting Institute – and the opportunities presented by our being an All-Steinway School will enable us to build for the future.’
Music at St Anne’s
St Anne’s values all types of music making, encouraging a ‘music for all’ ethos supported by pioneering and high standard performing opportunities. St Anne’s doesn’t have a chapel but has instead grown a successful recital and education programme with an emphasis on instrumental music.
A notable innovation is the St Anne’s Camerata, a 15-player string orchestra. It works regularly work with professional ensembles (e.g. Kaleidoscope Collective, Castalian String Quartet, Maxwell Quartet), and present educational programmes in partnership with the Faculty of Music, the Oxford Cultural Programme, the Oxford Conducting Institute, and BIM. In many ways the Camerata is modelled on the more traditional chapel choirs – a side-by-side initiative, comprised of professional musicians, student scholars, and auditioned exhibitioners from Oxfordshire schools.
Outreach is central in the Camerata’s endeavours, and the college recital series – Beyond the Dots – presents a varied programme of events each term. Through partnerships with the Oxfordshire County Music Service, and the Burford Institute of Music, students from primary and secondary schools attend recitals and supplementary workshops (the Beyond the Dots series featured in OMEP being awarded the Paritor Special Achievement Award for New Music in 2015).
The St Anne’s College Music Society, in addition to presenting recitals, co-ordinate student led ensembles, ranging from orchestras, choirs, chamber music, pop and rock, to more nuanced groups that come and go with the mood of the student body (e.g. a boomwhacker ensemble!).
Central to all St Anne’s musical activities is inclusion. As at present, the new pianos will be accessible to all college members. The practice rooms in 50 Woodstock, the Danson Room, and the Bar, are open access to all, and the grand pianos in the MOLT and Annie Barnes Room will be available by prior arrangement.
Our Music Students
Another significant feature of music at St Anne’s, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, has been its success in developing composers and conductors. This clearly draws on the respective research interests of the music tutor, composer Professor Martyn Harry, and the director of music, Dr John Traill, who runs the Oxford Conducting Institute here. Many of our students have gone on to pursue professional careers in these areas (particularly Manuel Martinez-Burgos, Toby Anderson, Livi van Warmelo, Adam Possener, Alice Knight) and in many respects this creative side of music resonates strongly with the rest of St Anne’s College, whose tutors include Turner Prize winning artist Jesse Darling, and authors Matthew Reynolds and Patrick McGuinness.
St Anne’s College is also one of the best-performing colleges academically in terms of results in the past decade. This is shown not only by the number of the firsts attained in Prelims and FHS overall, but by the fact that our music students have won the Faculty of Music’s prestigious Gibbs prize (awarded for the top result in students’ final year) five times in the past ten years.
There is no question that the new pianos and the benefits brought by the All-Steinway School status will be a significant enhancement of what we do musically, culturally and academically at St Anne’s College. We look forward to embarking on this new phase of cultural life at St Anne’s, equipped with instruments which befit the excellence of our musicians and will enable us to attract the best and brightest students, no matter their background, in keeping with our purpose and vision. We look forward to welcoming you to College soon to experience the pianos in use in concert.
Celebrating the occasion
To celebrate this exciting next chapter, is with great pleasure that we invite you to join us at
A concert for Seven Pianos on Saturday, 14th June at 5:30pm
in the Dining Hall
to mark the arrival of the pianos and celebrate St Anne’s becoming a Steinway School
John Traill – The Gardam Grace arr. for seven pianos
Brubeck – Points on Jazz
Mendelssohn – Prelude and Fugue in E minor, Op.25, No.1
Nick Samuel – Heptalogue for seven pianos (world premiere)
Martyn Harry – Digging Deeper arr. for seven pianos
Daniel Reynolds – Carillon Dream for fourteen pianists (world premiere)
The concert will be performed by past and present members of the St Anne’s community, including Prof. Jonathan Katz (Emeritus Fellow), Dr Shannon McKellar (Senior Tutor), and distinguished alumnae. Featuring music by Dr John Traill (Director of Music), Prof Martyn Harry (Tutorial Fellow in Music), and two current students, this is a rare chance to hear seven exceptional pianos being played at the same time, in a setting that is at the heart of the college community.
If you would like more information, or to support Music at St Anne’s, please contact: kiri-ann.olney@st-annes.ox.ac.uk
You can also make a gift directly to The Music Fund here.