The famous five will bring music to your ears.
It’s so important to include the youth of Rye, support and promote them whenever possible as they will help to shape our future and they matter.
The organisers of the Rye Jazz & Blues Festival recognise this and with the kind permission of Rye College executive head teacher, Barry Blakelock and support from Lauren Loveless, Head of Art and her team, have been working together to engage with the students to add yet another exciting element to the festival in August.
The plan was to acquire a five unwanted pianos, transport them to Rye College for the students to decorate, then deliver them to strategic points within Rye over the August bank holiday for the public to admire and play, similar to those that can be seen at major airports and stations.
The seed was sown and the plan of action started to evolve. Rye News kindly placed a wanted advert to try to secure five upright pianos, they needed to be in reasonable working condition and free. The five pianos were identified and donated by five kind supporters including Rye Creative Arts Centre, David Manson Pianos of Cranbrook, Amanda Skinner of Fairfield, Linda Charlton of Withyham and an anonymous donor from Hastings.
Moving five pianos could have proved problematical had it not been for the fantastic support received from Leon Bourne and his team from Bournes removals of Rye who have bent over backwards to make everything possible. They collected the pianos and delivered them safely to Rye college last week ready for the students to work their creative magic.
Four of the pianos will be decorated with varying themes to coincide with the students’ curriculum requirements, the fifth will remain white in readiness for anyone who wishes to leave their painted handprint on it.
The whole collection process was organised by Wendy Thorp from Bournes removals, a seamless operation carried out by true professionals who donated their time and expertise for which the festival organisers are extremely grateful.
There will be a story book which tracks the progress of the “famous five”. The photo shows the team from Bournes including Steve Myers, Matt Hopkins and Matt Murray delivering the pianos to Rye College. More photos will be added to the story book which will be covered in Rye News as the pianos begin their transformation. Watch this space for further updates and put a note in your diaries to join in the fun, this August bank holiday weekend and see what’s planned by visiting ryejazz.com.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .