Please enjoy these videos of Chaffee County Piano Club performances at Piano Party #1 - Sept 22, 2019

NOTE: There are five videos in this blog entry! Don't miss out - scroll down to see all of them.

Want more? Please visit our videos page.



1 of 5: The Chaffee County Piano Club had its first Piano Party! A good time was had by all. We had 5 performers and 9 guests for a total of 14 people.



2 of 5: Roger Moen, performing a few warm-ups: The first is an arpeggio by Dinu Lipatti; the second is an excerpt from Spamalot; the third is a portion of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. The main piece is the middle adagio movement from the Bach-Busoni Toccata in C.



3 of 5: Ian Runge plays two songs in the style of recent performances by Michael Bublé: "For Once In My Life," and "Save The Last Dance For Me."



4 of 5: Jim Bradley plays Chopin's Impromptu No. 1 in A flat, Op. 29.



5 of 5: Jim Hight plays "The Girl From Ipanema" - and it's a sing-along!

August 26, 2019 - Piano Christening: Roger performs a few pieces for wife Teresa and some friends after dinner, on his just-delivered Kawai 5'10" grand piano! So exciting!

Hello!

Roger Moen here. Thanks for visiting our site! I'm the webmaster and currently the prime ringleader of the Chaffee County Piano Club.

This is me, the day I bought my grand piano (August 17, 2019) at the Colorado Piano Warehouse (ask for Rick). Now that was a happy day!



I've had an on-again, off-again love affair with the piano since I was 13 years old.

I became passionate about classical piano at the age of 14, and practiced 3 hours a day until I turned 18. Then I discovered two important things: 1. Girls! and 2. I would never be good enough to make a living as a pianist.

Sooooo… goodby Mr. Piano, until I was on the cusp of turning 65. Then I discovered two important things: 1. You need to work at keeping your brain sharp once you enter the third act of life, and 2. Someday, you too will go to that great Concert Hall In The Sky. Don't die with your music still in you.

The moment those thoughts crystalized in my head, there was only 8 days to go until the next Summit County Piano Party. and I was determined not to let another piano party go by without playing. (I'd been attending Summit County piano parties from Dec 2012 thru late 2017, but not playing). So, I picked the easiest piece I could think of that was still musically interesting for grownups: Bach's Prelude #1 in C Major. Since I'm a computer nerd, I added a synthesized digital flute to play along to.

And so, I returned to playing in public (see video), after a 45 year absence! Mistakes and all.

"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." - Ludwig van Beethoven

If I can do it, maybe you can too! Has it been years since you played? Come join us, and get inspired.

Roger


PS: I'm the webmaster for this site, the Chaffee County Piano Club, and also for our sister club, the Summit County Piano Club. During the day, my wife Teresa and I are Realtors with eXp Realty, serving Breckenridge, Summit County, Park County, and Chaffee County. But after hours, we enjoy partner-style dancing (Dancing In The Rockies) and music!

My piano is a 5'10" Kawai KG-2E. Built in Japan in 1987, shipped to Colorado Springs, and as best I can tell, only one owner before I purchased it in August 2019 from the Colorado Piano Warehouse (ask for Rick).

(At 5'10", most descriptions would classify it as a "full grand piano" - larger than a baby grand, but smaller than a parlor grand.)

I asked my friend Larry Porter to stop by and play it. He's my piano's Godfather, because he (and Jo) convinced me to upgrade from a digital keyboard to a grand piano. (My piano teacher Jo Boatright is my piano's Godmother for the same reason. I thank them both for their kind words of encouragement).



Larry, who knows a thing or two about pianos, had this to say about my new shiny black toy:

"A great piano. This is one of the most exceptional Kawai's of this model that I have seen. It has the bass of a 7-foot grand, a sweetness of tone in the mid-range, and a balanced (not harsh) high treble. The action feels as if new and responds accordingly. Very even. A joy to play."

Sensing that I was soaking up the praise, he went on to say "Also you may take note that Horowitz and probably Rubinstein have played this piano before." I think he may have been teasing but … what if he's right!?! 🤪

The BMF (Breckenridge Music Festival) is offering a musical odyssey with a series of private recitals by world-class musicians as you cruise lovely destinations from Athens to Rome. It's a week-long cruise in September 2019. The price of the tour includes a $125 per person donation to BMF. Two PDF files available. Please contact Janey at janeytrowbridge@aol.com if you are interested.