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A home for amateurs with a passion for piano
It all started when Sarah Chauncey’s husband gave her a grand piano for their 25th wedding anniversary in 2002. Chauncey, now in her 50s, played when she was younger and, inspired by her son, who would later be a music major in college, wanted to revisit her piano playing days. Eileen Rossi, 60, her next-door neighbor, had just started taking piano lessons for the first time and wanted someone to practice with. Sharing bagels, hot coffee, and a passion for piano, the women began meeting on a regular basis, eventually
starting their own piano club.
Today, the club has evolved into Grownups Who Want to Play, an amateur piano group in Rockland County, New York, that meets once every two months on a Wednesday night in Chauncey’s living room to play for each other. The meetings offer a supportive environment for adults who have returned to the piano or have begun taking lessons for the first
time. “This is kind of a way to make piano playing accessible to people,” says Chauncey. “It’s a nonthreatening atmosphere based around enjoyment of the instrument.”
During these Wednesday night gatherings, attendees eat refreshments and bring pieces ranging from classical to jazz and pop to showcase what they’ve been practicing for the past eight weeks. Some members compose their own piano arrangements. “We enjoy hearing each other play,” says Chauncey. “We’re kind of ‘rah rah’ cheerleaders for each other.” For example, accomplished pianists will bring duets to play with less-skilled players who want to improve.
Since there is no pressure to play, members who didn’t have time to prepare or practice a piece still feel welcome. Rossi, who prefers to play on her own, rarely plays in front of the group and attends for the camaraderie and piano music. One of Rossi’s favorite memories of meetings was when she performed Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” surprising the whole group. “I did work very hard and I played it very well,” says Rossi. “It was time, I mean, I’m the president of the club and I have to let my friends know I’m still interested and I do play; it made my teacher very happy.”
Seeing people grow and blossom as piano players is a special part of Grownups. Approximately eight to 15 people show up on a regular basis, many of whom are seniors. “People from all age levels can connect,” says Chauncey. “It gives older people a chance to engage in an activity that isn’t exclusive to young people who have to be in a certain physical shape; they bring a lot of feeling to their music and it’s their life experience that seems to come through.”
Chauncey and Rossi agree that the group gives its members something to work towards and look forward to so they are more motivated to practice and perfect a piece. “The meetings give people an external goal,” says Chauncey. “There’s not pressure, but we all need to plan for something. It’s fun to know that I can play the piece in a month to share with someone.”
Camaraderie is another benefit that the group gives its members. “We have every level from beginners to people who thought they would pursue music as a career,” says Chauncey. “We have someone with a doctorate who works at a pharmaceutical company, a physician, a teacher, people from all walks of life, aged 20 to 80. It’s a nice intergenerational way to connect through music.”
Grownups took off five years ago, around the time that Chauncey and Rossi developed enough interest through salon
programs and concerts they held with the Hudson Valley Piano Club—the parent club to Grownups. When the group was still just Chauncey and Rossi playing for one another, they wanted to hear professional pianists, so they started organizing salons in people’s homes and inviting accomplished players. Eventually the popularity of the salons expanded to the concert series, Dead Pianists Society, which is held at the Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church in Pearl River, New York. Performers play on a Yamaha Concert Grand Piano and tickets are only $5.
It was at these concerts and salons that Chauncey and Rossi generated interest in Grownups and let attendees know where and when to meet. “As it grew and we started our website, we received e-mails from people all over the country asking us how we got started and how they should go about starting their own club,” says Rossi.
Salons are intimate concert performances held in someone’s home, and were regular occurrences in the early years of the piano’s development. Concert halls and opera houses were suited for large ensembles rather than the grand piano, which did not have the acoustic ability to project.
“The whole idea of the club is that this was the norm 100 years ago and people are looking to connect,” says Chauncey. “You can play the piano well into your old age and no one has to be left out. It gives me a good perspective on aging; I can still be active and involved.”
Because of the nonjudgemental atmosphere, group members who have bad memories of piano recitals from when they were young can get over their fears and play in public again. “We’ve all gone through those recital moments, and because we’re adults now, we don’t want to do this as a career,” says Chauncey. “It’s a sincere love of music that brings us together. Music is the universal language.”
Looking for more articles on piano? |
| John O’ Hurley - A Class Act |
| Opening Up the Keys |
| Keyboards and Accessories |
| It's Never Too Late |
| Secrets of Playing Piano Bars |
