The Piano in the Woods project has now come to an end. The last performance took place on 3rd May 2014 (see below for details and a recording).

I intend to write more fully about my experience of piano in the woods later in the summer. There has been so much to say that I haven’t yet been able to start…

In the meantime here is a lovely audio documentary about the project made by sound artist Ben Horner and I’ve reposted the wonderful short film that Ben Rowley made of us moving the piano into place at the beginning of the project.

Below that is a list acknowledging all the amazing people who collaborated on this project.

Piano in the woods was a collaborative project made possible with the help of:

Angela Pickard (dancer)
Aurelija Pakeltyte (photographer)
Ben Hickman (poet)
Ben Horner (audio documentary)
Ben Rowley (filmmaker)
David England (curator)
David Leahy (double bassist / dancer)
Elenor Perry (poet)
Eliot Watkins, George Gasson, Eleanore Hodge, Amelia Hamilton (piano bowers)
Elizabeth Mansfield
Elsa, Eva, Anais and Hugo (4-year old musicians)
Hand of Stabs (musicians)
Hazel Stone (video)
Juha Virtanen (poet)
Kat Peddie (poet)
Lemon Otter (harmonicaintheoven.com)
Luke Blake (poet)
Libby Peatman (curator)
Matthew Watkins (curator)
Nathan Thomas (audio recording)
Neil Sloman (photographer)
Sam O’Hana (poet)
Scratch Orchestra (musicians, singers and fire-breather)
Simon Smith (poet)
Sondyfolk (Bristol-based art collective)
Tania Holland Williams (mezzo soprano)
Tina Krasevec (dancer)
Toma Gouband (lithophone)
Tom Jackson (clarinets)

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This performance took place after dark and wasn’t filmed or photographed. However, Neil Sloman took these portraits of Toma that afternoon while he was setting up the piano with his lithophonic percussion.

The last Piano in the Woods performance will happen this Saturday (3rd May 2014) at 9:30pm and will feature lithophonic percussion virtuoso Toma Gouband and myself. If you have been before you can just turn up and give your name at the gate, otherwise email me for directions (sambailey1@mac.com).

Alongside this performance is an exhibition of photographs, films and recordings from the project at the Sidney Cooper Gallery in Canterbury. The show is called Cloud/Cuckooland and features a new installation from sound artist Janek Schaefer along with lots of information on the so-called “Canterbury Sound” and students’ work.

See you there,

Sam

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The next performance is on Sunday 6th April at 13.00 and will feature dancer Angela Pickard, the band Hand of Stabs, poet Luke Blake as well as the poor dead piano.

E-mail me at sambailey1@mac.com if you’d like to come.

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Photographs from the 11th Piano in the Woods performance that featured mezzo soprano Tania Holland Williams and poet Sam O’Hana. Only two more performances left!

The next performance will be at 13.00 on Sunday 9th March (not today!).

Also, I’m excited to be able to confirm that the wonderful Hand of Stabs will be performing as part of the April performance (13.00 on Sunday April 6th).

The final performance in this project will happen on Saturday 3rd May at 21.30. More information about this final performance will be posted soon.

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More lovely photos from Neil Sloman from Sunday’s event that featured the poet Eleanor Perry.

The next piano in the woods performance will take place at 13.00 on Sunday 9th February 2014.

It will feature Eleanor Perry reading her poems whilst I continue torturing what’s left of the poor old instrument.

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