The purpose of “Stars of Steinway” is to celebrate the great repertoire for the instrument and the professional concert pianists who bring the notes to life.
“Stars of Steinway, Inc.” is a non-profit organization, not affiliated with the Steinway Company, that annually presents a series of four piano recitals and one chamber music concert by internationally-known and local professional musicians in the Treasure Valley. It was founded by Mike Winter in the summer of 2012. Admission to each concert has a $15 suggested donation, but no one is turned away. They are co-sponsored by Mike and his wife Mona Morrison, and Dunkley Music, the Steinway dealership in Boise, Idaho, for 74 years. The series is also supported by donations from the audience.
MIKE WINTER (PRESIDENT)
A lifelong lover and student of the piano, Mike Winter has been in the classical music business for nearly 50 years–originally in the orchestra management field, and since 1990 as a freelance music and dance critic, an adjunct professor of music, and a concert presenter. He founded a recital series of five pairs of free concerts sponsored by donations, called “Stars of Steinway” held at the Steinway dealership in Boise. Mike has lived there since 1982, when he was hired by the Boise Philharmonic to be its Executive Director. Since retiring, Mike has been a successful volunteer fund-raiser for Idaho Dance Theatre, the Boise Philharmonic, and Boise State University, where he chaired the committee that raised $1.2 million for the university to become an all-Steinway school. Mike received his Master of Arts degree in Communication Theory in 2003 from Boise State. His Master’s thesis is titled “Communication, Meaning, and the Musical Gesture.”
MONA C. MORRISON (MARKETING DIRECTOR)
Mona Morrison has been employed by Dunkley Music, Idaho’s Steinway dealership since 1950, for 16 years. In addition to being the Store Manager, she is also the Director of Marketing and Institutional Sales. An Idaho native who moved to Boise from Twin Falls in 1974, Mona began music studies on piano at the age of nine, and added percussion and timpani in junior high school. She is now an active freelance musician and a regular member of the Opera Idaho Orchestra and the Boise Baroque Orchestra. She has also performed regularly with the Boise Philharmonic, the Ballet Idaho orchestra, the Caritas Chorale (Sun Valley), the Monterey Bay Symphony, and the Santa Cruz County Symphony. In addition to music, her passions include spoiling her 11 grandchildren, playing tennis, cooking gourmet meals, and traveling as much of the world as a busy schedule allows.
