Pianists play 111 pianos at 'epic' fundraiser

Organisers planned for 101 pianos to be played simultaneously, but increased the number to 111 due to demand

Pianists have performed simultaneously on 111 pianos for a fundraising event in Nottinghamshire.

A group of more than 130 musicians played in unison at Sherwood Phoenix piano shop in Mansfield on Saturday.

Organisers believe the performance surpassed a previous UK record for the most pianos played at once, but said there was no "official" attempt made to verify their musical effort.

One of the organisers, Helen Martyniuk, said the showcase raised £2,252 to buy a grand piano for St Mary Magdalene Church, in Newark-on-Trent, which is being refurbished.

More than 130 people took part in the event

Ms Martyniuk, originally from Ukraine but now lives in Nottinghamshire, said it took days to prepare the pianos and match the pitch across all 111 instruments.

"We rehearsed for about half an hour, took a break and then played again," said Ms Martyniuk.

She said they planned for 101 pianos to be played simultaneously, but increased the number to 111 due to demand.

"We made arrangements for all possible levels, for beginners, Grade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 chord progressions, so literally everyone can take part," she added.

Ms Martyniuk said the pianists played the songs Prelude in C major by J.S. Bach and In the Hall of the Mountain King by E. Grieg.

Each song lasted about 90 to 95 seconds, said Ms Martyniuk.

"We had chip shop owners, MP James Naish, heavy lifters, engineers, doctors, organists, piano returners playing," she said.

"There were four generations of one family, teachers with their students, and many more people from a local community that have this mutual connection - piano. It was mega successful."

Director of music at St Mary Magdalene Church, Stephen Bullamore, said lots of people wanted to take part

Rowan Cozens, deputy leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said hearing all the pianos play at once was "incredibly emotional".

"We've been talking for a long time to get a beautiful piano in Newark, and we found one whilst work to refurbish St Mary's church was ongoing," said Cozens.

"We saw the amount of pianos inside Phoenix piano shop and came up with the idea to try and break the UK record.

"It was incredibly emotional, they played the most beautiful tunes."

The director of music at St Mary Magdalene Church, Stephen Bullamore, said the show had been "epic".

"When we opened up bookings, we thought we would struggle to get 101 pianists. It got so popular we had to close bookings," said Mr Bullamore.

"This was never an 'official' record attempt. We believe it is the largest collection of pianos ever played together in the UK.

"Perhaps we will aim for an officially-verified record in the future."