A Brief History of Pianos at Smith

Yes, Virginia, there is a piano in every traditional undergraduate student house at Smith!

College historians aren’t sure when this special residential custom began, but some pianos in the campus “fleet” are close to celebrating their 100th birthdays. Alums have a tradition of donating pianos for student residences, such as the one given to Washburn House in 2007 by the family of the late Kellie Kirschmann Stone ’88.

Each of Smith’s 41 houses is responsible for maintaining its own piano, but the music department keeps careful track of all of them. A recent summary revealed 10 house pianos in “good” condition, 14 that “need work,” and 12 described as “replacement candidates.” (Other more granular details from the report: the Steinway piano in Chase House “needs love”; Cutter House’s Yamaha piano is “absolutely fine,” while the Sohmer piano in Morris House is “dirty!! Messed up hammers—does not require eliminating—YET.”)

The presence of pianos in campus houses is a recognition of their importance to both the curriculum and student welfare, says Jiayan Sun, who is assistant professor of music, associate chair for performance activities and an accomplished pianist.

“The virtue of an acoustic piano is that it has qualities somewhere between equipment and a piece of craftsmanship,” Sun says. “Music is a big part of the well-being of our students. And having pianos they can engage with—especially for those who might not have the opportunity otherwise—is an important part of what we offer.”

Pianos used in college performance halls—including two concert grands for Sweeney Concert Hall and a Steinway for Earle Recital Hall—are maintained by the music department. When not in rotation, the instruments used in Sweeney are housed in a space in Sage Hall aptly termed the “piano garage” for its pull-down doors.

Pianos can also be found in the music department’s 15 practice rooms, which are open to all students, faculty, and staff on a first-come, first-served basis.

In all, “we have about 40 pianos in Sage Hall,” notes Anna Goudreau, administrative coordinator for the music department. “And it’s not just piano students who use them. It’s an amazing resource to have access to.”

Maintenance costs for those pianos is in the neighborhood of $50,000 annually, while new concert pianos can cost as much as $250,000.

Sun would like to see a more coordinated plan for campus pianos—“more communication about not only investing in new instruments, but also a mechanism for maintaining our aging fleet.”

“Pianos aren’t meant to last forever,” he adds. “My job is to help persuade people to create a system and a culture to maintain and update this fleet for perpetuity, to have a mindset that we have this important asset for teaching, and to use and enjoy.”