Just lately, I had the chance to interview Julie Hackmann from the Kyrene Faculty District. Mrs. Hackmann is the Coordinator of Kyrene’s Visible and Performing Arts Division. It has been a 12 months since her district changed practically all of their old style pianos with new Roland Digital Pianos, and we needed to meet up with her to see how they’re doing. Additionally, we thought it will be an awesome alternative to share with you the method she went by to make this funding occur.
Hello, Julie! Thanks for talking with us. What led you to the place of Wonderful & Performing Arts Coordinator, and the way lengthy have you ever been on this place?
JH: I’m a 26-year veteran Choral Music trainer, and I’ve been Arts Coordinator for Kyrene for 3 years. We’ve got 27 Okay-8 colleges within the District.
Kyrene Faculty District got down to substitute practically all of their (growing old) pianos with technology-infused devices.
Whenever you began on this place, what challenges have been you centered on?
JH: Ensuring that each one the Arts academics had sources to show finest practices was my primary precedence. As I found within the first 12 months, lots of our pianos have been damaged, arduous to tune, heavy to maneuver, and really old-fashioned. Changing our outdated pianos rapidly turned a prime precedence for the music academics in our district.
What made you resolve to switch older (conventional) pianos in your faculty district with digital pianos?
JH: Earlier than shifting to my present administrative place, I labored with the varsity PTO to buy a digital piano for my Refrain classroom. That piano made an enormous distinction in my potential to show. The truth that a digital instrument may really feel and sound like an acoustic – whereas incorporating new applied sciences just like the accompaniment catalog, on the spot transpose, track and train recording, and the power so as to add a number of instrument layers – all made buying digitals an essential method to future-proof our music lecture rooms.
Have been the music academics reluctant to change their conventional pianos for digital pianos?
JH: A number of academics selected to additionally retain their acoustic pianos, however not one elementary music, refrain, band, orchestra or mariachi trainer selected to decide out of the digital piano program. Everybody was extraordinarily excited – particularly after they discovered that in-depth coaching was included within the contract.
Riverton Piano Professionals assembled 30 Roland digital pianos (mannequin HP704) for supply to colleges within the Kyrene Faculty District.
Kyrene Faculties invested in new HP704 Roland Digital Pianos for nearly all of their colleges in 2021. It has now been a 12 months since to procure them. What has the expertise been like in your academics?
JH: We’ve got heard nothing however reward for the brand new Rolands – the academics LOVE them. Utilizing the options has come slowly to some (principally from lack of time to study) however your trainings have been extraordinarily useful. There are such a lot of great purposes and options with the brand new digital pianos that our academics are recurrently sharing their discoveries in our PLC conferences. The assist from Riverton workers has been implausible, and the net video trainings are priceless sources as properly.
What was your largest hurdle or problem in getting this challenge throughout the end line?
JH: Securing the funding was really easy as soon as I demonstrated the necessity to substitute the out-of-date and “well-used” acoustic pianos to our District Administration. After the funding was accepted, the bidding course of took a while, however Riverton’s promise to conduct complete coaching and the worth Roland’s options have been two constructive buying factors. Then, actually, the most important hurdle was COVID protocols and security measures delaying entry to highschool campuses, because the Roland pianos may solely be delivered when college students weren’t current. Riverton went above and past to verify all of the pianos have been safely delivered.
Would you suggest digital pianos for different faculty districts?
JH: Completely. It is a priceless funding in the way forward for music college students and lecture rooms. The options these state-of-the-art digital pianos supply, together with the power to make use of Bluetooth to wirelessly join, using headphones, the power to transpose, the power to compose, the superior potential to implement classroom classes in listening and sight-reading and singing, connecting to on-line tutorials, simple transport, the power to see college students over the keyboard – to not point out the texture and sound of those devices – make them an funding that may positively affect our music lecture rooms for years to come back.
The brand new pianos enable music academics to stream music from a cell system, report workouts and accompaniments, transpose on the fly, simply transfer their pianos, and incorporate lots of of instrument sounds into their music – with no tuning or upkeep bills. Click on the hyperlink to study extra concerning the Roland HP704.
Lastly, what would you say about your expertise working with Riverton Piano Firm throughout this course of?
JH: Riverton has been a wonderful accomplice within the course of of buying and studying to make use of the brand new digital pianos. Communication is obvious and immediate, and the customer support, even within the difficult years of COVID, has been excellent. I deeply admire how a lot the Riverton workers have finished to make the method easy and the expertise of buying so many pianos so constructive. As our district hires new academics, we’ll proceed to work with Riverton to deliver them up to the mark on the most recent applied sciences and apps. Because of everybody for making this a convincing success!
Julie, we want to thanks for taking the time to talk with us, and we congratulate Kyrene Faculty District in your forward-thinking method to music training in your colleges. We additionally thanks very a lot for putting your belief in Riverton Piano! Congratulations!
Riverton Piano Firm is grateful for all the colleges, faculties, academics and efficiency venues which have supported us within the final a number of years. We all know you all have all confronted unprecedented challenges from COVID to finances cuts to staffing shortages and extra, however, collectively, we’ve got completed – and can proceed to perform – nice issues.
In case your faculty or establishment is contemplating upgrading your piano stock, please contact us. We’ve got instruments that may show you how to determine the correct devices, elevate the funds you want, and guarantee constructive outcomes in your music division. Who is aware of? Perhaps you could be our subsequent interview!
