Yamaha is Named the 'Official Piano Of Tilles Center'

BUENA PARK, Calif.—The path to achieving the coveted title, "Official Piano of Tilles Center" was as dramatic and exciting as a full house performance. Five of the world's greatest pianists including IlyaYakushev, Frederic Chiu and Anne-Marie McDermott, convened for an extraordinary afternoon 'audition' session. Only this time it was the piano that was being judged.

"We're enormously pleased to award Yamaha with this title," says Elliott Sroka, executive director of Tilles Center. "It was an incredible treat to hear these fine pianists play these instruments. One of the things I respect so much about Yamaha is their meticulous attention to craft and artistry, and their love of music, from the perspective of both the artist and the audience experience."

I have great faith in Yamaha's devotion to quality and in their understanding of the importance of ensuring that an artist feels comfortable with the piano as quickly as possible. In conversations with the artists who will be performing here this season, I have received universally positive and enthusiastic responses to the news."

Bob Heller, Yamaha national sales manager stated, "I feel so fortunate to have witnessed this insider view of the artistic process. I've never been to anything like it; it was simply wonderful."

The newest and most recent addition to Yamaha's impressive CFIIIS family of concert grand pianos was chosen to reside in Tilles Center's Concert Hall; a Yamaha C7 grand piano now resides in Hillwood Recital Hall; and a Yamaha S4 piano is located in the Atrium.

The three Yamaha pianos will be used for a wide range of performances and musical styles, another important decision-making consideration, says Sroka. Performances will run the gamut from major concerti with symphonies to jazz and chamber music concerts to cabaret and pop offerings. "Yamaha pianos are adaptable to many styles of music and are able to make the transformation from the big sound necessary in an orchestral setting, to the more intimate, acoustic voice required in jazz or cabaret performances. I have been aware of Yamaha's quality over the past several years - and, in fact, we've had Yamaha pianos here for our chamber music series for nearly ten years - but this opportunity to further develop our relationship has been serendipitous for Tilles. Ever since the first Yamaha pianos were placed on the C.W. Post campus in the 1990s, we've been pleased with their quality. This new stage of our relationship is the culmination of many years of courtship," Sroka adds.

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, on the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in Brookville, New York, is the premier concert hall on Long Island. During its regular season, Tilles Center hosts more than 100 performances by world-renowned artists in music, theater and dance; the facilities are also used for another 100 public service and private events throughout the calendar year. In addition, Tilles Center is home to important regional arts organizations including the Long Island Philharmonic and Eglevsky Ballet.

The Tilles Center Concert Hall

"The day Elliott Sroka contacted me to inquire about Tilles becoming an all-Yamaha house was a very good one, of course," says James Steeber, director of Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI), "I felt that we had passed a test of years-long duration in which we had proved our worth with artists and as colleagues. I was thrilled."

David Pocock, Yamaha institutional sales manager; was also on sight for the auspicious occasion and Yoshi Suzuki, had the critical job of ensuring that the instruments were prepped and ready to go for the unique competition.

Each year, well over 200,000 audience members attend various functions at the three Tilles Center venues. Tilles Center Concert Hall seats 2,242 and features orchestral performances, fully-staged operas, ballets and modern dance, along with Broadway shows, and all styles of music, dance and theater. Chamber music, cabaret, solo recitals, and theater productions for audiences of all ages are presented in the more intimate 490-seat Hillwood Recital Hall. The Atrium is the showpiece lobby area, an impressive Euro-modern glass-walled structure that is used for pre-show and special events, an annual Gala dinner and more informal performances.

The 2009-10 Tilles Center season began with a performance by Broadway superstar Bernadette Peters, in concert with full orchestra on October 3. Performances by stars such as Vladimir Feltsman, Bill Cosby, Jackson Browne, Rita Moreno, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Parsons Dance Company accompanied by members of the East Village Opera Company, Itzhak Perlman, The Boston Pops, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and many others will be offered throughout the season.

For the full schedule and further information, please visit www.tillescenter.org.