Cape Fear Friends contribute to Steinway program at Campbell
 

     The Cape Fear Friends of the Fine Arts at Campbell University voted to donate $2,000 to Campbell’s All-Steinway School fundraising campaign. The goal of the campaign is to qualify Campbell University for All-Steinway School designation, which means that at least 90 percent of the pianos used in the music school and related areas on campus are manufactured by Steinway and Sons pianos.
     “People underestimate the importance of being an All-Steinway school,” said Chapel Hill real estate developer Ed Broughton, a Steinway campaign volunteer for Campbell. “It’s not about just having nice pianos; it puts Campbell in a league with schools that are internationally known for their music programs like Carnegie-Mellon, Yale and Julliard.”
     The All-Steinway designation not only attracts top-notch students but is one of the most effective marketing tools a university can have, added Broughton. Steinway also markets the schools on its Web site, providing a great deal of name recognition.
     The goal of the campaign, begun at the beginning of the academic year, is $1 million, which would purchase approximately 35 Steinway pianos for Campbell.
     “It’s still early in the campaign, but we’ve gotten off to a great start,” said Ester Howard, president of Cape Fear Friends of the Fine Arts. “It is such a prestigious program for Campbell, not only for our Fine Arts students but audiences who attend Campbell concerts will be very blessed too.”
     Music instructor Betty Wishart is the chair of the 2006 All-Steinway School Campaign at Campbell. For more information on how to participate in the campaign, contact Wishart at Campbell University’s Division of Fine Arts at (910) 893-4397 or (800) 334-4111, ext. 4397 or Dr. Ran Whitley, chair of the Division of Fine Arts, at (910) 893-1496 or (800) 334-4111, ext. 1496.
     Established in 1995, the purpose of the Cape Fear Friends of the Fine Arts at Campbell University is to promote an appreciation of and interest in the Fine Arts through a variety of programs and arts activities. Members of the organization’s Executive Board of Directors are Dr. Ran Whitley, Gail Neville, Dr. Bruce Blackmon, Susan Morrow, Colon Jackson, Lawrence Buffaloe and Dan Honeycutt, Harnett County Schools superintendent.