Film

Herd of Pianos

13 – 17 February, 2022

Photo: Wes Johnston

Screening twice daily at the Dalhousie Art Gallery from SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 TO THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM.

During the displacement caused by a major renovation project and the ever-changing global pandemic, a creative collaboration between Dalhousie Art Gallery and Upstream Music resulted in this adventure. The gallery offered up our climate-controlled space to the Music Department and became a repository for seven grand pianos, many upright pianos, and other musical instruments. Director/Curator Peter Dykhuis and Upstream Artistic Director Lukas Pearse teamed up to consider the ways we could use re-imagined space as a creative lab. The project and final product resulted in a confluence between improvisation and planning, both in the challenging ways we were able to work under regulations, and the experimental nature of the performances. 

These circumstances coalesced into a multi-piano improvisation by improv piano virtuoso Tim Crofts along with a sextet of Halifax pianists performing Six Pianos composed by Steve Reich (US) and Circus Dog by Juliet Palmer (Can-NZ). 

Join us in the gallery for a cinematic dive into a piano experience appropriate for these unprecedented conditions, with pianists Ian Bent, Simon Docking, Jennifer King, Mark Morton, Tara Scott, and Megan Thibeault.

Each screening will run for approximately an hour and a half. Pre-Registration is required through the Upstream Eventbrite page. Capacity is limited and admission is FREE.

REGISTER HERE

We ask that you do not bring food or water into the gallery at this time. All provincial COVID regulations will be followed, including masks, distancing, and proofs of vaccination.