Hilton Hotels struck a chord among the music industry with the backstage debut of its “Harmony Piano” as part of the 48th annual Grammy Awards. Major musicians are putting music education in the spotlight by creating a work of art—a celebrity-autographed grand piano—to ultimately be auctioned off for thousands of dollars to support the Grammy Foundation and its music education programs.

After collecting signatures from presenters and performers at the GRAMMY Awards, the piano will embark on an unprecedented multi-city, cross-country journey that could potentially make it one of the most sought after musical art pieces in the world.

Hilton Hotels is orchestrating the “Hilton Harmony Tour” to showcase this rare, harmonious instrument with the grand finale set to be next year during the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

At each tour stop, musical artists will grace the piano with their signatures—and in some cases, play a melody—with Hilton donating $1,000 for each noted musician or celebrity who autographs it over the course of the year.

The goal is to collect $100,000-worth of signatures to raise funds for the GRAMMY Foundation and its programs.

The efforts Hilton is making to put music education in the spotlight will extend beyond the Hilton Harmony Tour.

The celebrated Harmony Piano, with its completed palette of colorful autographs, will be auctioned off after the tour ends in February 2007. Art collectors and music fans throughout the world will have the opportunity to bid on this rich, resonant piece of art in the name of charity.

“Music is a significant component of the Hilton Travel Should Take You Places(TM) campaign, so the Hilton Harmony Tour is a natural extension of that,” said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president of Hilton Brand Performance.

“We look forward to working with talented artists who are helping to create a memorable art piece dedicated to such a notable cause.”

The autograph-decorated piano will travel across the country to select Hilton properties and music sites in major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Calif. and New York, N.Y.

The Hilton Harmony Tour builds on the 16-year relationship between Hilton, The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Awards—a relationship that was established to reinforce the sentiment that music and travel can transform, inspire and refresh the soul.
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