Yamaha recognizes UAH as Institution of Excellence

The UAH Department of Music uses an internet-enabled Yamaha Disklavier CFX concert grand piano.

Michael Mercier / UAH

Yamaha Corporation of America has named The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, as a 2021 honoree in its inaugural Institution of Excellence program, acknowledging the school's extraordinary commitment to innovation in the study of music.

Only 10 outstanding schools nationwide earned the prestigious designation this year. Yamaha is committed to working with UAH in substantive ways for the long-term growth and benefit of its music students and faculty. The Institution of Excellence program is tailored to respond to each honoree's unique mission and the designation unlocks benefits for the institution, its faculty and its students.

"For more than a century, Yamaha has focused on defining and elevating the quality of musical performance," says Dan Rodowicz, senior director, institutional sales, Yamaha.

"We chose The University of Alabama in Huntsville for its outstanding work in pursuing relevant, real-world experience for the students in its school of music. From synergistic partnerships with UAH's world-class STEM programs to our international remote music collaborations, UAH has built a global network designed to broaden horizons for both students and faculty," Rodowicz says.

"Programs with the city of Huntsville, NASA and the US Army's Redstone Arsenal demonstrate its commitment to a strong and vibrant ecosystem," he says. "All of this is why we are pleased to invite UAH to become part of a program that demonstrates our commitment to finding, celebrating and collaborating with institutions who share our vision for music's crucial role in society."

"The Yamaha Institution of Excellence distinction highlights our innovative music program in Huntsville and resonates with our pioneering DNA as a university and city," says Dr. C. David Ragsdale, chair of the UAH Department of Music. "This recognition from a corporation like Yamaha, respected around the world for cutting-edge products, will be powerful in establishing a similarly leading reputation for UAH. We are proud and grateful for Yamaha's support of Music at UAH."

This year's 10 schools were selected by Yamaha following a rigorous, nationwide nomination and review process. Honorees are chosen for their dedication to providing unique and challenging experiences to their music students through diversity of thought and curriculum, exposure to a wider variety of voices and opportunities and an emphasis on preparing students for the modern world of music. Each year new institutions will be selected for recognition and added to the roster.

"UAH has been connected to Yamaha through its Piano Loan Program with local affiliate A.B. Stephens for more than two decades," says Dr. Sean Lane, dean of UAH's College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

"In recent years, our extensive use of Yamaha's Disklavier technology to reach students as far away as China as well as establishing UAH as a hub for remote teaching with universities across the U.S. has only deepened our longstanding relationship with Yamaha," Dr. Lane says. "I am proud of the groundbreaking work our faculty and students of the Department of Music have done using Yamaha's instruments and technologies, and we are honored to be among the schools chosen for its Institutions of Excellence program."

The Department of Music at UAH is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.