The Music Department at the University of York in the UK have added five more Schimmel C120I upright pianos to their practice and rehearsal rooms, bringing the total number of Schimmel pianos they own to fourteen.

The University of York ranks consistently in the top ten ranked universities in the UK and is in the World Top 100. It was also awarded the prestigious 'University of the Year' award at the Times Higher Education Awards in London, 2010. They are focused on providing the highest quality of education, so it is understandable they chose Schimmel - the most awarded German piano in the world. For example, the C120I received one of the highest accolades from one of the leading French magazines for classical music. See details of the Le Monde de la Musique CHOC award here.

York University announced their Schimmel piano purchase on the York University website recently on the 9 February 2012, following a generous grant. The Vice Chancellor describes the pianos as popular among the students, high quality and most importantly for a university, 'The quality of weighting and tone in this German-built piano provides excellent preparation for performance on a concert grand. They have been toned to complement the acoustics of our practice rooms.'

To read more about the prestigious range of European Schimmel pianos click here. Hutchings Pianos is the only authorised Schimmel reseller in Sydney and New South Wales. To request a brochure or a quotation for your school, studio or home, contact us or come in and visit us for a demonstration.

Simon and Friends
Thursday 22 July, 2010
7pm - 10pm

St James Church, Philip and King St, Sydney, NSW (Map)

Tickets: $35 ($25 concession)
Online bookings here

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On Thursday 22nd July at the acoustically wonderful, Francis Greenway designed St James Church in the Sydney CBD, world renowned classical pianist, Simon Tedeschi will be joined on stage by his friends Kevin Hunt, and Mariia Gorkun to perform a concert in aid of the MicroLoan Foundation. Hutchings Pianos will be providing the hire of a premium, European designed and manufactured Schimmel grand piano, in aid of this very worthwhile cause.

Bob Geldof is the UK patron of the MicroLoan Foundation and Simon Tedeschi is the Australian patron. MicroLoan provides small loans, basic business training and ongoing mentoring support to groups of women in sub Saharan Africa, who are regarded as too poor to receive commercial loans from banks. Their ultimate aim is to help the poor help themselves eradicate poverty. 'Core to the ethos of the MicroLoan Foundation is the word 'micro.' We started small, concentrating on helping poor women living in rural areas and making 'micro' loans.’ (Peter Ryan, Founder and CEO)

All directors and staff at the MicroLoan Foundation in Australia are unpaid. Any overheads have been funded by themselves or have come out of a specially provided infrastructure fund. The concert on the 22nd will provide a direct injection of funds into the work the MicroLoan Foundation Australia does in Malawi to help some of the worlds poorest women start and run small businesses and support themselves.

Wendy Hutchings is a strong supporter of many charities. ‘I love providing support to organisations I believe in. It gives me a great level of satisfaction being able to make a difference, particularly through music’. Simon Tedeschi is also a great philanthropist. ‘I generally get behind any cause that I feel strongly about, it's really the minimum a musician can do in order to give back.’ (Yahoo7 News 24/06/2010)

To read about how Simon became so passionate about using his music for the greater good, we recommend reading a fantastic article about him that recently featured in The Australian -  Review section (July 3-4 2010)

At the MicroLoan concert, he will be joined on stage by Kevin Hunt, the well-known Sydney jazz and classical pianist and Mariia Gorkun, an amazing violinist from the Ukraine and a Masters of Music candidate at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. They will be performing some of their personal favourite pieces including, Beethoven, Ravel, Duke Ellington and Gerswin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Tickets are only $35 and are available online here ($25 Concession - proof required before entry on night). This is an amazing price to see such world class performers. We ask all Hutchings Pianos customers to consider supporting this event.

Schimmel is looking to the future with optimism after a successful restructure and plans for a new model rollout and premium product strategy this year.

A recent press release direct from Germany states that 'Schimmel pianos is safe and looks ahead optimistically with all jobs being preserved.' This is an amazing feat during the global financial crisis that for a while threatened the company's stability. However in the tradition of its founder, Wilhelm Schimmel who started Schimmel Pianos in Germany in 1885, the fourth generation-run company has bounced back stronger than ever.

Schimmel had filed for insolvency in 2009, but fortunately due to the German Federal Government reforming their insolvency laws they were able to continue to operate and have successfully completed financial reorganisation proceedings. According to the German Minister of Justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, 'Just two percent of all insolvent companies make use of financial restructuring under use of the Chapter11 status'.  Schimmel stands as an example to many other companies. Thanks to creditors' confidence in the business and further investment from business partners and the family, Schimmel's' German production site has been secured and all staff have been provided with a job guarantee. New design features will be revealed in the new model launch soon.

Wilhelm Schimmel's motto was ‘Quality will prevail’.  The Schimmel family have certainly proven critics wrong and shown they can overcome adversity by thriving for 125 years. It continues as the largest German family-run manufacturer of grand and upright pianos in the world. Exclusively available in Sydney at Hutchings Pianos.