WCU becomes All-Steinway School
(The following press release was submitted to MyFOX23.com from William Carey University.)
William Carey University will celebrate becoming the first All-Steinway School in Mississippi with a presentation and recital on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the Thomas Fine Arts Center. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and include the official All-Steinway School presentation by Sally Coveleskie, national director of higher education for Steinway & Sons, Inc., and Christy Myers of Steinway Piano Gallery in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Assistant Professor of Music Brian Murphy will speak about the All-Steinway campaign and how this was a goal of the late Dr. Don Odom who was dean of the Winters School of Music and Ministry Studies. The All-Steinway School designation means William Carey University has made a commitment to excellence by providing students and faculty members with the best instruments possible for the study of music. Steinway Artist Dr. Kadisha Onalbayeva will perform following the presentation. Onalbayeva began her musical training at the age of five and has received numerous awards for her performances and received a Soros Prize for her work in the development of international cultural exchanges. She earned two Master of Music degrees in composition and piano performance from the University of New Orleans and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Louisiana State University. She has participated in international music festivals as composer, performer and organizer. She is currently the director of piano studies and professor of music at University of Mobile. Onalbayeva is founder and currently serves as president of the Gulf Coast Steinway Society, which includes Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. On Dec. 20, 2016, she recorded four works for Steinway’s Spirio recording project at Steinway Hall in New York, N.Y. In 2017, she was awarded an Artist Fellowship Grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. On June 6, 2018, Onalbayeva will give a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.
