Ian Harvey-George and Burnetts on Barney owner Elizabeth Burnett with the new public piano. Photo: Supplied.
An idea for a public piano in Kiama, inspired by the ABC television series The Piano and one dad’s personal journey from nervous beginner to public performer, is finally ready to take centre stage.
The brainchild of Kiama’s Ian Harvey-George, the new public piano will officially be launched at Burnetts on Barney in Kiama on Saturday (19 September) at 11 am.
“For years I’ve been flying in and out of Adelaide Airport; I’m an airline pilot for work, and there’s this beautiful baby grand piano sitting there in the middle of Adelaide Airport,” Ian said.
“I remember thinking you had to be really good at piano to play it.”
Over the past 18 months, he has learnt to play, gradually building the courage to find public pianos to practise on around the country and share music with others.
He said he realised if he could learn three or four chords, he could play most pop songs.
“There is a beautiful public piano in Brisbane and I sat down there for 10 minutes and I realised that actually as long as you make something that sounds nice, even something simple, you don’t get told off,” he said.
After 35 years of being too nervous to sign up for piano lessons, Ian finally took the plunge recently and began lessons himself.
“The whole experience has pushed me to do things I’d put off for years,” Ian said.
“I’d wanted proper piano lessons for most of my life, but I was always too nervous to sign up.
“This journey finally gave me the confidence to do it.”
Now, that journey is coming full circle as he encourages others to play publicly, fuelled by the success of the ABC TV series and support from the Kiama community.
Ian originally reached out to the community through social media to see if others were interested in the idea of a public piano in the town.
The new public piano will be launched on Saturday in Kiama. Photo: Supplied.
“The actual response from the community post was overwhelming,” he said.
“Just one Facebook post and you’ve got people offering pianos, you’ve got people offering help.”
He said a huge part of making the Kiama piano possible was the support of Epic Music Kiama, which donated the piano for the project.
“Epic Music has been amazing,” Ian said.
“For them to donate the piano and believe in the idea from the start has made the whole thing possible.”
Burnetts on Barney has also embraced the concept and provided a home for the piano among its gardens, while Illawarra piano tuner Scott Jackson has helped prepare and tune the instrument ready for the community.
“We’ve been incredibly lucky with the support we’ve received from Epic Music, Burnetts and Scott,” he said.
“It really has been a local community effort.”
The piano also fits with another initiative of Ian’s, Kiama Unplugged, where the wider aim is to create opportunities for people to step away from screens and connect through shared experiences.
Ian hopes the piano will bring residents and visitors together to sit down and share a song that means something to them.
“There’s something really special about someone sitting down at a public piano and sharing a piece of music,” he said.
“People stop, listen and connect for a few minutes.
“That’s what we’d love to see happen here in Kiama.”
The Kiama Public Piano Launch will be held at Burnetts on Barney, Kiama on Saturday (19 September) at 11 am. The event is free and everyone is welcome.
