Friends of Araluen fundraises new grand piano and celebrates with three-day festival

A Red Centre piano festival is taking place this weekend – with the its centrepiece making a cross-continent journey to take part. Find out more.

Sally Westaway, Wendy Pierson, Dan the Underdog, Thomas van der Geest-Hester, Paddy van der Geest-Hester, and Dave Crowe with the brand new Yamaha C7 grand piano at Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs. Picture: Gera Kazakov

A grand fundraising effort by dedicated musos – and an even grander cross-continent journey for a piano – will be celebrated with a festival this weekend in the Red Centre, and the community is invited to join.

Coming all the way from the Kakegawa factory in Hamamatsu, Japan, the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs has a new Yamaha C7 grand piano – thanks to fundraising efforts from the Friends of Araluen.

Friends of Araluen Festival of the Piano event co-ordinator Jessye Blake said the original grand piano at the arts centre – donated by the Alice Springs Town Council in 1984 – was getting old and wasn’t holding it’s tune anymore, which led to the decision to retire it in 2020.

With a quote of $50,000 for a new piano from Yamaha, Ms Blake said the Friends of Araluen got together and started fundraising to meet the target.

However, once they reached the amount needed, a spanner was thrown in the works – inflation had risen the price of the piano to more than $90,000, Ms Blake said.

But in a twist of fate, Yamaha honoured the original $50,000 quote – netting the group a $40,000 discount, she said.

Sally Westaway, Wendy Pierson and Dan the Underdog. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“That was really exciting, because they’re very impressed that a community had (fundraised the amount),” she said.

“It’s just such a great resource for the community in terms of when we have visiting artists, to have an instrument of this quality and standard, for them to be able to play.”

The public will be able to see the new grand piano in use for the first time at the Friends of Araluen Festival of the Piano, running from September 13 to 15.

Kicking off Friday with Scaling Up, local and interstate talent will have their crack on the new piano.

Wendy Pierson and Sally Westaway from Ivory and Blue are set to be some of the first to use the new piano.

Ms Pierson and Ms Westaway will play a hybrid mix of classical and contemporary music, with vocals from local rapper Dan the Underdog.

“It’s quite interesting with Dan (the Underdog) now coming on with the piano as well, because it’s quite unique, having both a piano and a harp and then opera with rap added to it,” they said.

Other events include Our Forte on Saturday, September 14, with the event wrapping up on Sunday with the Piano Duet.

A festival pass for all three shows is $70.