Sleeping with the Steinway

Nelson’s beloved Steinway piano is headed for a marathon on May 28 – a series of eleven back to back concerts, all featuring the grand piano and all in aid of the Nelson School of Music’s earthquake strengthening and rebuild.

Local music teacher Sarah Lewis came up with the fundraising concept ‘Sleeping with the Steinway’, but the event now involves an estimated 500 performers, and a large team of back stage helpers, all who have given their time voluntarily. The concert will be held at Old St John’s in Hardy St, the current home of the Steinway piano.

“We start at 5pm on Saturday 28 May, when Murray Sturgeon will take us through an accompanied version of the experience that he and his wife Jocelyn had when they went to the Steinway factory in Hamburg to chose the piano back in 2009,” says Lewis. “What follows is 24 hours of pure piano theatre, where every item must incorporate the Steinway piano. We have Student Showcases, The Formal on Saturday night with local, national and international musicians, choirs, drag queens, a Buster Keaton silent movie with piano and jazz accompaniment, a sleepover for teens in the ‘graveyard’ hours, the Dawn Chorus of favourite operatic choruses, Lazy Sunday Jazz and a Finale Community Jam with the Central School Choir, Off Your Rockers chorus, and a new uke group, the Steineleles.”

Lewis says a highlight will be the revelation at midnight of ‘Ripple Effect’, a commissioned work generously gifted by Gareth Farr to mark the rebirth of the School and performed by NSOM students under his guidance.

“We went to a lot of effort to get a grant for this work without success, so I was bouncing around my piano room when Gareth told me he’d go ahead and do it for nothing,” Lewis says. “I think the School’s set of 50 hand bells were the clincher. They had been in the Edridge-McLean family for 140 years before they were donated to the School a couple of years ago and they are amazing.”

Between 6 am and 9am on Sunday morning, there is a ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ slot, where members of the public who can pre-booked stage and piano-time canand fulfil their life’s dream to publicly perform a concerto, showcase an original composition or produce a collaborative performance with friends and family.

Individual concerts are ticketed separately, and there is a concession pass for ‘the lot’. Tickets are available from Theatre Royal and door sales will also be available. Lewis says St John’s Hall behind the main venue will be set up as a piano bar with refreshments served to a musical theme.

The School of Music has $6.2m of the $6.4m needed for the rebuild. Last month Michael Houstoun gave a fundraising concert, and the Take Your Seat campaign is steadily gaining $750 donations in return for a plaque on a seat in the refurbished auditorium. Rainey House has been removed to clear the building site and tenders close at the end of this month.

Sleeping with the Steinway is at Old St John’s in Hardy St, Piano Bar in hall, start time 5pm Saturday, runs for 14 hours. More information atsleepingwiththesteinway.nz Tickets and concession passes at the Theatre Royal.

ENDS

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