THE University of Western Sydney will celebrate a christening this week not of a baby, but a grand baby.

It was music to their ears when the music department learnt that a top grand piano was approved by the dean of the College of Arts, Wayne McKenna, this year.

The $200,000 Steinway was delivered to the Kingswood campus in September from Germany.

Students and staff have already been playing it in class and for recordings but today they will have a special performance to christen the ``black beauty'' properly.

Since the first Steinway was crafted in 1853, Steinway & Sons have developed a reputation for crafting the musical instrument of choice for pianists, composers and performers around the world.

Diana Blom, the head of the music program within the university's School of Communication Arts, said the university bought the Steinway to provide students with an unsurpassed educational experience.

She hopes the university will assign a larger space for performances because the room they have now caters for only 60 people.

The bachelor of music course had an intake of 100 students this year, with the same expected next year.

``When students become professional pianists, recording their music and playing in concerts, they are likely to use a Steinway,'' Dr Blom said.

``To practise, perform and record on such an instrument while they are still studying is a rewarding experience.

``We have had a big Kawai grand piano since 1994 when the music department opened and it is being restrung so we can use that too.''

Each handcrafted Steinway takes up to one full year to complete. This one is a Model C custom-voiced by the head voicer at Steinway's factory in Hamburg.

The university's Steinway will be used by students, staff and professional musicians for concerts and recordings.