Hi there!

Are you thinking of performing at one of our piano parties, but are a little hesitant?

Please check out this video of laughs and testimonials (from Chaffee County Piano Party #2) - we have a lot of fun, and people are enjoying the parties. Take a chance!

Hello performers! Here's what you need to know about Chaffee County Piano Party #2:

1. Date: Saturday Dec 14, 2019
2. Time: You can arrive as early as 3:00pm, to practice & get used to the piano and the room. The party officially starts at 4:00pm and will end around 6pm-ish
3. Location: A private home near Buena Vista; address to be provided via separate email
4. Your Performance: Plan on about 6-10 minutes for each performer (including remarks)
5. Food and Drink: Yes. Please bring some food to share ("heavy appetizers", desserts) or a bottle of wine
6. Part 1 - Formal: Once everyone arrives, the guests will be seated while each performer plays, in a typical living room concert
7. Part 2 - Food & Informal: Once all performers have played, the formal concert portion is over, and we'll have food & drink, starting around 5:30pm-ish. During this time, performers are encouraged to play something of their choosing on the piano, just for fun, with the understanding that people will be talking, standing, eating, and milling about.
8. The formal program will typically alternate classical vs popular pieces. The informal program: unstructured and anything goes.
9. We'd like to have a bit over an hour of formal performance time. If we don't have enough performers, so there might be time for an encore, etc - so, have something extra to play in your back pocket!
10. Please let me know if you will be “single” or “plus one” — we have room for around 20 people - a few more in a pinch.
11. Please let me know if you don’t want your last name to appear on the program or on our website
12. I am planning to videotape my performance, and post it. Please let me know if I may videotape yours. I can do minor edits (trims & truncations), and could even just extract your favorite 15 seconds or so. It’ll show up on https://chaffeecountypianoclub.org/video/ , but only with your permission.

See you soon!

Roger

When starting a Chaffee County Piano Club from scratch, I thought I'd reach out to people who have already done it.

So, I consulted with Jim Bradley of Summit County, who along with his wife Pam and their friend Kim, have founded and are operating the very successful Summit County Piano Club, since 2012.

Jim recommended I speak with John Slaby, who along with Ronnie Ip, founded the Houston Amateur Piano Club in 2008.

Combining all the great advice from these piano club pioneers, here's what I have in mind for our Chaffee County piano club (this is about 80% copied from John Slaby - many thanks):

1. We rotate through various homes with adequate room and a good piano. We'd like to have around 5 hosts. With a piano party about every 10 weeks or so, that means they host about once a year. We don't ask hosts to do much since the members bring food and drink. Hosts get to choose whether they play first, last, or not at all!
2. We have a time limit of 10 minutes per performer (including any remarks) to keep the parties at a reasonable length.
3. We are not an LLC, Partnership, or a 501(c)(3); nor do we have any officers. We keep the structure simple to avoid politics; in fact, there is no structure.
4. The website domain name ends in ".org", not ".com", because we are just an organization, not a commercial endeavor. There is no money involved. No one gets paid.
5. In general, we limit promotion of the club so that new members are found only by word of mouth and personal reference. We don't run ads nor try to optimize search engine placement for the website. This helps limit size and maintain a safe environment.
6. Since our parties are held at private homes, we don't post any specific addresses on the website. Home addresses are only sent via email to the private mailing list. There is no "automatic sign-up" for the mailing list - it's curated, one new member at a time.
7. The majority of our performers are adult amateurs who share an enthusiasm for piano playing as a hobby, with the occasional appearance by a professional who can show us how it's done. Kids are allowed if they are currently taking piano lessons, and they are encouraged to perform. Kids who are not taking lessons? Sorry, nope. This is mostly for adults, and alcohol is present in moderation.
8. The Club provides a casual, friendly atmosphere where music of all levels can be performed without pressure. Our parties are not piano competitions nor workshops. They are informal living-room recitals with no winners nor losers. The only feedback is positive, in the form of applause. Performers are free to make mistakes and work through their nerves and performance anxiety!
9. "To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." - Ludwig van Beethoven
10. The ultimate goal is to have fun, enjoy playing the piano, and be inspired by like-minded people who share a love of music.

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!?! 🤪