I am hosting a ABF members piano party in my home ( Arvada, CO ) on Sat July 16th, 1-4:00PM. This will be a casual get together to meet and play if you are willing. There will also be a "special guest player". No, not me... but I might play something.

So far we have Jotur, Inlanding, WiseBuff, hawgdriver, & Mile Hi Steve that have expressed an interest or have committed to coming. We have room for a few more, spouses welcomed.
Post here & PM me for details.

Oh, I'm so jealous! I would love to meet all of you in person and spend time with you.

What great fun.
I do hope you'll post pics and some videos!

Count me in as a jealous one who would love to be there!

--Andy

You know Aspen & Vail are wonderful places in the middle of July. You & casinitaly can make this a pit stop on the way to a great vacation!

I have no doubt of that,.. unfortunately this July is out of the question

So what month works better, cas? Maybe we can do this a couple of times a year? I've been thinking of a hall where we could play here in Santa Fe (my place is far too small, and the pianos aren't, um, really suitable). We could make it the Denver area/International piano party

Cathy

Oh, Cathy, that's really sweet.

I'll be on the right side of the ocean in August, but an excursion to Denver or Santa Fe really won't work...not this year. Plans are already set (and paid for!).

I need LONG range planning for my transatlantic travels as I generally have to get a LOT of visiting with family and friends in.

However, NEXT year I could well be in the USA. We have been talking bout visting parts of Arizona and San Francisco. If that should come to pass I would really be delighted if it were possible to hook up with some PW buddies!!!

Bump.

Just so it's on the front forum page for a bit in case anyone missed it

I am really looking forward to this. And we made Monica jealous!

Cathy

hmm only an 8 hr drive for me! I just love Colorado:) However; I am unable to come in July:( Maybe next time:)

Yes, I am jealous indeed!! [gnashes teeth] I hope somebody will take a few pictures at the event and post them for us.

Duly noted, Augustina.

We know that Monica does not flinch in the face of long distance travel... so we will give you a pass on the short notice.

Add me to the jealous list! You gotta take pics and/or video. Have fun, all you guys!

I'm packing tomorrow evening, hitting Trader Joe's for some twothree-buck chuck, leaving Fri eve about 5 to get to CO Springs to stay with my brother, then heading for Arvada Saturday! Whooopeee!

I would love to have had my latest ready for this, but it's going to have to wait for the ABF recital. "...the little birdies go tweet tweet tweet." Oh well.

Cathy

rocking and-uh rolling and-uh singing that song?

See ya Sat.

We had our piano party today and it was great to meet some of the regulars on PW ABF. I would like to say thank you to jotur, WiseBuff, Inlanding, Hawgdriver, Randy (my piano tech), and a huge thank you to the lovely and musically exquisite, Carol Smith.

Here are a few photos from the event and I believe jotur has a few that she will post given time. Also, there is an audio link to some of the playing. The zoom was some distance from the piano and there is background chatter, but hey, it was a party first and foremost.

The pieces have been edited and are not in their entirety and I have left in a bit of verbal banter to convey a bit of the atmosphere. Also, the storage disk max out and I was unable to capture the playing of jotur and Randy much to my disappointment as their contributions were really good.

As I get permission I will add more photos.

Inlanding/Yes, that is a cast on his foot- never missed a beat!




Strings&Wood





Audio Link


Carol is from the beginning to about the 7 min mark.
hawdriver is about the 8 min mark.
WiseBuff is about the 12 min mark.
Inlanding is about the 13 min mark.
Yours truly is about the 15:40 mark.

What a great time that must have been! Thanks for the pics, and I really enjoyed hearing the recording. You had mighty fine piano playing going on at your house! And your piano sounds like a dream!

--Andy

Yes, Andy...it was a wonderful gathering.

Carl~
Thank you, thank you, to you and to Melanie for hosting such a fine party in your beautiful home!

It was a joy to meet everyone, share conversation, food, wine, and fine music on your wonderful piano. It is clear why you chose that Schimmel over all the pianos you test-drove. Such a responsive piano from (ppp to fff), with a clear, resounding bass, singing treble, and bell-like uppers. Randy does very good work. It is a beautiful instrument in a beautiful setting. What an amazing place to practice and play!

It was great that Cathy (jotour) could drive up from New Mexico and that WiseBuff, Hawgdriver, Randy, and Carol could attend. So good to meet you!

Thanks for getting us started here in Denver - there will be more. Once I can get the living room cleared out, I'd like to host one!

Glen

WiseBuff did not hesitate to entertain us and she has promised us a future date with her Grotrian!

It's sooooo nice. I wish I could've joined you... My work is too unpredictable this year to join any event or host one in here in AZ...

Randy is my piano tuning guru and has a very relaxed fluid style of play...easy for him, he's very good! I suspect he may moonlight at some of Denver's finest.

hawgdriver's "Raindrop Prelude" got my attention... well done!




Carol's 45 min performance was spectacular.

Carl's pictures cover most of it, but here's a couple more:



and yours truly - I love his piano



Oh whoops! I did something wrong with the embedding! Oh, figured it out

Cathy

Oh, and I have to say that cake was over the top good. And served in generous slices There were also some really good sandwiches, fruit, and other goodies. But we turned out to be water drinkers extraordinaire

Cathy

Looks like (and sounds like) everyone had a wonderful time!
(That cake is gorgeous - who made it?)

It is great fun to see photos of everyone - (Is Carol Smith a PW member?, if so - what is her nickname?)

I'm listening to the audio as I type and it is delightful!

I think it is really wonderful that the cyber-friendships developed here in the forums translate so beautifully into real-life enjoyment of each others' company!

Great pic of you Cathy. Much better pic than my wife's smartless phone. Thanks for posting.

Cas,
The cake came from a local bakery - Das Myers.

Carol is a local pro and piano teacher. Quite possibly my teacher if a spot opens.
She's booked at the moment.

It looks like great fun! I'm jealous.

Wow, looks like everything turned out just perfect. You couldn't ask for much more. Beautiful setting and piano too.