Coach House Pianos was pleased to support Ports Fest, formally known as Portsmouth Festivities, this year. Read on to discover more about the festival and what happened.
Ports Fest
This award-winning festival has been offering cultural experiences that explore the city’s multi-faceted identity for over 20 years.
Portsmouth is a commuter belt, a sea city, and a place of both rich cultural history and high levels of economic deprivation. The festival always aims to reach new audiences and participants, connecting with all lives in places and spaces from the everyday to the unusual.
Ports Fest has very strong links with education as it works with local schools and colleges on partnership projects and events, as well as being founded and sponsored by Portsmouth Grammar School.
Portsmouth Grammar School Community Offer
Coach House Pianos and Kawai UK were delighted to be working in partnership with Portsmouth Grammar School and Ports Fest, and to support the ‘Harry the Piano’ event on Thursday 29th June 2023, and wider Ports Fest activities, including donating 3 upright pianos to local Portsmouth schools to be decorated by students and placed in public spaces during the festival.
In addition to other partnership activities, Coach House Pianos would like to extend a special offer to all members of the Portsmouth Grammar School community and all Ports Fest visitors.
📷via Portsmouth Grammar School Website
For any new Kawai upright, grand, or digital piano purchased by a member of the Portsmouth Grammar School community (students, families, staff) or audience members attending Ports Fest events, Coach House will apply its education discount (minimum 25% discount on upright and grand pianos, 20% on digital pianos)
This offer also applies to all pre-owned and nearly new pianos of any brand with up to 30% discount.
For more information and to discuss your requirements please contact Coach House Pianos Education Manager, David Halford on 07388 338376 or email: david.halford@coachhousepianos.co.uk
Portsmouth Keys: Pianos for the People – 28th June – 2nd July
Portsmouth Keys is a project with multiple events and workshops which all centre around our connection with the piano.
An innovative way to reignite a passion for piano, there were pianos in locations around the city for the public to go along and play or simply listen to others giving performances. The piano locations include:
- Cascades Shopping Centre
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
- Portsmouth International Port
These three pianos have been decorated by local Portsmouth schools, The Flying Bull Academy, St Edmund’s Catholic School and Charter Academy.
Harry the Piano – 29th June 2023
Described as “The best damn pianist in the civilised world” by Jonathan Ross, world-renowned pianist and improvisor Harry the Piano delivered afternoon workshops to musicians from Portsmouth Grammar School and from surrounding local schools in the Rotunda at the Portsmouth Grammar School.
He then performed a show featuring students from the afternoon workshops in the New Theatre Royal. Prior to this, David Halford from Coach House Pianos gave a pre-concert talk on the ‘Evolution of the Concert Grand Piano’.
Freedom Concert – 30th June 2023
Teenage piano sensation Alanna Crouch and Fabio Tedde, otherwise known as Pianist Without Borders, performed beautiful works expressing freedom in the Rotunda at Portsmouth Grammar School.
Italian-born Fabio Tedde has attracted public attention thanks to his ability to improvise on the spot and his music reflects his encounters with cultures around the world. Fabio has toured all around the world, performing in 1026 different locations following many street pianos public events around the globe, such as Ports Fest.
Alanna Crouch is a 16-year-old British pianist and composer. Already she has performed at Steinway Hall UK, Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall and her passion for storytelling and prolific composing tell of a promising career ahead.
📷via Ports Fest Website
If you are interested in the offer above or you have any questions about Ports Fest or an enquiry about a piano, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
