As far as pianos go, a 9.5-foot Imperial Bösendorfer is a rare beast. So rare in fact that there are only 12 in Canada.
So when Tapestry Opera got a phone call from a Clarence Byrd and Ida Chen, saying that they want to donate their $225,000 piano, Tapestry jumped on it.
“This is a momentous gift for our creative and performing arts community,” said Michael Mori, Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera. “By making world-class instruments available to the public, we are able to support a whole new generation of exciting artistic achievements. It also puts the Distillery District on the map as Toronto’s newest destination for jazz and classical chamber music, which is especially significant at a time when live music venues are vanishing.”
The massive piano, which includes eight extra keys and is considered one of the most expensive in the world, was installed with a special crane loaded through the third-storey window of the Tapestry Opera’s Ernest Balmer studio.
To make good on the karma, Tapestry has decided to pay it forward with a disaster relief concert scheduled for Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Earnest Balmer Studio.
The show will include performances by Simone Osborne, mezzo-soprano Erica Iris Huang, tenors AsithaTennekoon and Keith Klassen, baritone Alexander Hajek. At 10 p.m. guests will then get to hear two piano virtuosos (Robi Botos and Younggun Kim) play the Bösendorferfor the very first time.
All proceeds will go towards countries rebuilding after a devastating summer of hurricanes and typhoons: Puerto Rico, Dominica, Mexico and India.
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