Made of 40 recycled pianos, the nation’s first Pianodrome is coming to Charlotte Shout!
The nation’s first pianodrome – an amphitheater and creative space made entirely of recycled pianos — will debut this spring during Charlotte Shout!, the city’s arts and music festival that runs March 31 to April 16.
Charlotte Pianodrome will be crafted from 40 discarded pianos, all meticulously constructed into an amphitheater consisting of a series of wedges and tiered seating. Nine anchor pianos are at the project’s structural core, 12 are turned upside down to form the top tier of seating and the others are dismantled for the timber and cast-iron harps inside them to help hold the piece together.
The final result is an “interactive sculpture that can serve as an acoustic concert venue, a lecture theatre, a workshop space, a performance area, or even a playground,” according to World Piano News.
“So many people have fond memories of a piano in their family, whether it’s grandma’s piano in the corner of her living room or a great aunt who always played during gatherings. But these pianos don’t live forever and often end up in the dump,” said Susan Lynch, president of the Charlotte Piano Teacher’s Forum. “Sometimes they’re repurposed as a bookcase or maybe a clock, but a pianodrome takes it to a whole new level. It’s like a rescue center for unwanted pianos.”
Charlotte Shout! fixture for the next three years
Many local piano teachers have been invited to use the space during the day for recitals, master classes or field trips. Each evening, the festival will host concerts in the pianodrome. And while pianos are the star of the show, the amphitheater setting is also ideal for other small ensemble performances, dancers, jazz artists and solo musicians. Look for a schedule of events on CharlotteShout.com.
The pianodrome, which is built to be taken apart and reconstructed, will appear for at least the next three years at Charlotte Shout!
Pianodrome born in Edinburgh, Scotland
Pianodrome CIC was created in 2017 when Scotland-based bandmates Tim Vincent-Smith and Matthew Wright teamed up to build the world’s first playable amphitheater made solely from recycled pianos for the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. It soon became a symbol of community and cultural resilience, and the company has since created several other pianodromes in Europe.
“We have been obsessed with Pianodrome since we first saw it three years ago in Edinburgh, and have been working to bring Pianodrome to Charlotte Shout!,” said Robert Krumbine, chief creative officer for Charlotte Center City Partners, which commissioned the piece.
A Center City Partners spokeswoman declined to comment on the cost of the piece, instead stating, “We focus on the creative and innovative result of this one-of-a-kind work.”
The Charlotte project marks the beginning of Pianodrome’s long-term partnership between U.K. and American cultural institutions, with the goal of sharing Pianodrome’s ethos of, “No piano is waste, and no person is un-musical.”
Organizers have been gathering pianos locally for months, with a few others coming from Minneapolis-based Keys4Kids, which has a warehouse of pianos to repair and rehome.
Pianodrome artists and builders from Edinburgh recently traveled to Charlotte to work alongside locals for the project. Construction is currently underway in a Fort Mill warehouse before moving to its home inside The Brooklyn Collective’s historic 19th century Grace AME Zion Church, one of North Carolina’s oldest surviving churches. The church was once at the heart of the thriving Black neighborhood of Brooklyn before the neighborhood was destroyed during the urban renewal period of the 1950s and 60s.
“It is both serendipitous and significant that the entire neighborhood in which Pianodrome Charlotte will debut, like the pianos we are using to build it, was once considered by some to be expendable,” Vincent-Smith said. “Grace indeed allowed this beautiful church to stand and the Brooklyn Collective who animate it are an inspiration.”
‘We’ve never had anything like this in Charlotte. … If people see it, they will remember it.’
Vincent-Smith said it’s a “privilege to have this amazing opportunity to share our work.” He said Charlotte Pianodrome will be a venue with people at its heart, music at its core and sustainability rooted in its design.
The pianodrome itself is a musical instrument. It’s expected that the Charlotte Pianodrome will have three playable pianos incorporated within the structure, in addition to a baby grand piano that will sit in the center of the space.
“It’s a living art installation — an interactive, playable sculpture — and such a unique opportunity for our students, their families and the community to come out and experience,” said Lynch, adding that this is “perfect timing” for the piano community as the Charlotte Piano Teacher Forum celebrates its 70th anniversary. “We’ve never had anything like this in Charlotte. One thing is for sure: If people see it, they will remember it.”
