ABC's Pop-Up Pianos are bringing the gift of music to communities around Australia

Australia Broadcast Center

4 hours ago

Rescuing pre-loved pianos isn't just about sparing them from the tip for Mike Hendry. It's about giving them a whole new life.
Something he's been able to do in more ways than one as part of the ABC's Pop-Up Pianos campaign.
Mr Hendry is a piano tuner and partner at Pianos Recycled, a rare enterprise breaking the cycle of pianos ending up in landfill, by rehoming or repurposing them.
"We get 80 inquiries a month from people wanting to get rid of pianos," Mr Hendry says.
"We fix the ones we can and others we take apart, and make all kinds of things; tables, bedside tables, storage boxes [and] desks."
One client even requested a casket be made from their old piano, something Mr Hendry said says was a tough request to beat.
To celebrate the ABC iview series, The Piano, the ABC and Piano Plus Australia are delivering 19 pre-loved pianos, donated by organisations like Pianos Recycled, and ordinary people, to communities across the country.
Nestled along a wall of handprints in the common area of the Eastern Hub Geelong Community Centre in Victoria's south-west, is an upright pre-loved piano in its new home.
The Hub's Admin Officer Joanne Brown, nominated the centre in the ABC Pop-Up Pianos town call-out.
The centre hosts disability day services, aged care respite and community activities including acting classes and African drumming workshops.
Ms Brown says the centre used to have a community piano along with their community choir which sadly dispersed during the height of the pandemic due to restrictions on gatherings.
During that time, the piano was also taken away from their centre and they have been without one up until now.
"This is an opportunity for [the choir] to come back because they can have a piano here," Ms Brown says.
Ms Brown says her team have been reaching back out to community, calling on choir members to return and use the space now that they have access to a piano.
But it's not just for former choir members to enjoy. Ms Brown says this piano is a sign of hope for a new generation of creatives too.
"The other great thing about having the piano here is having budding young pianists come in on the piano, use the space and make it theirs," she says.
Further south along the Great Ocean Road in the seaside town of Warrnambool, another community gather around to receive their gifted keys.
The Lighthouse Theatre is among the towns across Australia that geared up to welcome their ABC Pop-Up Piano.
Venue Service Manager Meg Deyell says while the theatre host a lot of big showcases like the ballet and Shakespeare, what it lacked was community music.
"It's really important for a community to have these focal points, these opportunities to share these experiences together," Ms Deyell says.
The Find Your Voice Collective, a choir made up of 200 plus people of all abilities and ages, were the first to grace the piano as it arrived in Warrnambool last month.
"Some are in wheelchairs, some have intellectual disabilities, others just love being part of the group and have joined," Ms Deyell says.
Up north in Townsville, Dr April Miu says music plays a huge role not only for her but also her community.
"I have been playing the piano since I was a child. It's been something that I've grown up with and it's been a way for me to relax after a difficult day." Dr Miu says.
The surgeon at Breastscreen Queensland says this sentiment is something she shares with her local community.
The north-eastern town of Queensland was hit hard earlier in the year by flooding that left houses inundated and cars destroyed.
There were records of more than 200 millimetres of rain falling across parts of north Queensland, which Dr Miu recalls was a difficult time for her town.
This was her motivation behind nominating her local hospital to receive an ABC Pop-Up Piano.
"[It's] for the community to have a nice distraction, especially when someone comes to a hospital because they don't come to the hospital without a purpose… and the purpose isn't necessarily the most positive thing," she says.
Dr Miu is among the local musicians who will be performing at the Townsville University Hospital's Pop Up Piano Community Concert.
Pop-Up Piano Community concerts are happening in winning towns across Australia over the next few months.