Glasgow Piano City was formed on April 1st 2014. We are a voluntary organisation still seeking core funding for our activities. We recently took the step to form ourselves into a new community interest company as an umbrella for all our activities. As of May 9th 2017 we are now ' The Piano Project CIC' ( SC 565504 ) and are a fully fledged social enterprise and member of the Glasgow Social Enterprise Network GSen. If you want to know more about social enterprise please click here.
We are a small group of people with a common aim: to encourage and facilitate a new appreciation of acoustic pianos in Glasgow & beyond . . . . through events and activities that offer people more opportunities ~ and an explicit permission ~ to play freely, irrespective of age or ability. We are working steadily to create a citywide network supporting our 'Pianos on Prescription' initiative
Our Lids Open Day events are creating new opportunities for people to play the highest quality acoustic pianos in Glasgow. These events will always be free and are intended to offer an experience that is not primarily performance or 'entertainment' based. If you want to donate a piano to the project please visit the Donations page for more information on our piano matchmaking ~ where we aim to find the right location for the right piano after first assessing all potential donations for their quality & reliability. We are a ' not for profit ' initiative and will continue to seek grant funding to support our activities over the next few years as we keep on building a strong pool of high quality acoustic pianos in public spaces & community projects freely available for anyone to play.
We successfully presented the decorated street pianos of Play Me, I'm Yours in Glasgow during the 2014 Commonwealth Games. As a result, there are now many more pianos available to play around the city and the number of piano friendly venues is growing steadily. Visit our Piano Locations page for 15 pianos to play. Roll on the European Championships in Berlin & Glasgow in 2018 . . . 1 event, 6 pianos and 88 keys.
Our Current Team Note: We need new members on our organising committee. Please contact us here if you are interested !
Tom Binns: Founder / Project Coordinator / Chairman ( Musician / Artist . . . Jack of all trades )
" One fine Spring day in 2013 I was having a Hot Chocolate and a wee cake outside An Clachan Cafe in Kelvingrove Park when the idea of bringing some choirs together to sing an old Gospel song I had re-written, round an acoustic piano in the park, took root in my mind. Three months later we had our day in the sun & did just that singing 'the Voice of Freedom' on June 9th, West End Festival parade day. Someone came up to me and said "You should pure do Play Me, I'm Yours mate". I had not heard of the streetpiano phenomenon at that point, though after a wee search discovered it ~ and then set about bringing it to Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
It has been quite a roller coaster ever since, with the project evolving into a wider initiative and Lids Open Day proving successful in its own right. We have been fortunate to secure a small amount of funding 3 yrs running and aim to build on everything we have achieved. When I am not running GPC ~ I still manage to squeeze in some work as a self-employed Focusing practitioner sharing the gentle skills of ' Listening through the Body ~ with Art ' with my 2nd working thread & therapeutic practice Life Support Partnerships.
Alasdair Russell: GPC Piano Tuner / Vice Chairman ( Piano Tuner / Dark Horse Piano Player )
Alasdair is definitely an 'old school' piano tuner. No IPhone Apps for him ! He is available for private tunings at very reasonable rates. Contact him directly on: 07952791383
Paula Sweeten: Treasurer ( Marathon Runner, Piano Player & Boffin )
Paula has recently joined the Board as Treasurer and is, among other things, a Stem Cell Scientist, Science Blogger, Runner, fundraiser and pianist.
Altron: GPC Carpenter / Piano Decoration & Piano Up-Cycling ( General all round Crafty Geezer )
Altron is an invaluable member of our team dealing with unusual piano stool design & construction requests, new rear panels and bespoke piano decoration ( See ' Eric ' in the foyer of Govanhill Baths ) Altron has now branched out into Extreme Piano Up-Cycling with numerous creations appearing from his workshop that used to be a piano, including: Beautiful Earrings made from Piano Keys and a headboard for a bed ( with his & hers lights ! ) Visit his online shop ALTRONICA and his Facebook Page too.
