Castlemaine Piano Guerrillas
Duration: 21 March-6 April
The Maine Piano Guerrillas are coming to Castlemaine Fringe 2025!
During Castlemaine Fringe 2025 (21 March-6 April), The Coolroom at the Northern Arts Hotel are joining forces with an underground piano movement to put donated upright pianos in prominent locations around town to encourage a new movement targeting the spontaneous mellifluous, mesmerising and melodious machinations of music in public places. The Program see: bit.ly/pianoguerrillas
PIANOS AT LARGE
During the Festival we will perpetuate piano mayhem at six as yet undisclosed locations around Castlemaine led by our very own Pianists at Large.
PIANISTS AT LARGE [PIANO PALS]
Maggie Jackson • Jem Challender• Paul Ryan • Jude Russell •John Meir + you!
MAINE PIANO GUERRILLAS LAUNCH CONCERT
Friday 21 March at 7.30pm, with a launch of a piano music fundraising concert at The Coolroom Northern Arts Hotel.
PIANOS AT LARGE GRAND FINALE CONCERT
Sunday 6 April at 6pm, end with a public perfectly played grand piano Concert at The Coolroom Northern Arts Hotel.
SPARE PIANO or digital keyboard WE CAN USE?
So do you have an upright piano or digital keyboard sitting in the corner gathering dust that could be put to better use? Can you help transport it?
MUSIC GROUP OR CHOIR – JOIN IN!
Are you a community musician, choir, or small group that would love to be part of our planned and or spontaneous program? Get in touch as we want to program some weekend and mid week gatherings.
Contact Helen 0431 747 504 or mainepianoguerrillas@gmail.com
https://bit.ly/pianoguerrillas
About the Piano PALS
PIANISTS AT LARGE [PIANO PALS]
Maggie Jackson:
Our patron and well known local jazz pianist who can be seen playing piano and many local events including with her NY Jazz Trio, At Arcare for the residents and families, for the IWD Concert, at the Castlemaine Secondary College where she plays for students., Castlemaine Jazz Festival and more. Maggie enthusiastically joined us on this journey as great lover of the piano. Her baby grand Steinway and Maggie have had a 30 year love affair.
Jem Challender:
Jem plays with a variety of other musicians around Castlemaine and is a passionate Jazz pianist. He is the leader pianist and songwriter and inspiration behind the Jazz group The Anticlinal Fold, He has presented many concerts at The Coolroom , raised money for Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, presented our 2024 Christmas Concert involving his three children, Thomasina, violinist and Castlemaine Secondary College Musician of the Year, Mary another talented violinist, and his youngest is Albertine, who recently commenced her piano journey and is already showing promise.
Paul Ryan:
Paul started this journey for our group leading conversation about the need to save pianos been given away and put them to good use and proposed project to put them on our street and so The Maine Piano Guerrillas was born and now we have the Fringe project. Paul is also pianist who is presenting a unique show during Fringe with a colleague Victor O Circumstance where they use digital piano, and recorded sounds and projections to explore original poems and musical landscapes based on a range of related themes, traversing fanciful, poignant and sometimes surreal spaces of imagination.
Jude Russell:
Jude says ‘I would dearly love to take advantage of using these pianos in the street. I’m wondering if you could give me more info on their locations so that I may consider my accessibility to them beforehand. I’m highly qualified as a classical pianist, have had a major career in jazz but these days I prefer to freely improvise from the heart and I can imagine in this situation taking inspiration from surrounding environment and people. I’m an Australian Art Orchestra Alumni and these days am mostly involved with their events and their affiliation with Castlemaine-based Punctum.’
John Meir:
John is well known local jazz musician both on guitar and piano and leads the local group John and The Meircats. [more to come!]
