CHESTER Festivals have restored the St Mary’s Centre Steinway piano inherited from Cheshire County Council.

The piano was in a bad state of repairs and needed a lot of attention.

The main users of the piano were the Chester Summer Music Festival and Chester Music Society who have now joined forces to restore the piano back to its original state.

Between them in 2009 they raised enough funds to have the main work done to the piano.

Tracy Lynn, director of Chester Festivals, said: “The piano is a great musical asset to the city which will delight audiences in many years to come if we can complete the restoration and will also help St Mary’s centre become a hub for cultural activity.”

The piano has been on a long journey travelling to Hamburg and back to an expert Steinway restorer and now finds is way back home to St Mary’s Centre ready to be played in 2010.

However, the piano is still in need of work to restore it to its former beauty, for it to take part in prestigious concerts in Chester.

To raise funds for the piano, an evening concert has been organised by Chester Music Society and Chester festivals which is hoping to raise funds for the polishing of the piano, so it will look as good as it sounds.

Berkley Ranby, a committee member of Chester Music Society, said: “The evening will feature the restored piano for the first time since it’s travels and will be played by a skilled pianist.

“Chester Festivals and ourselves have raised enough funds to get the piano to a playable state, now we are hoping the money raised from the evening will help the piano look as good as it sounds.”

The concert is on Wednesday (April 21) at St Mary’s Centre and will feature Catalan pianist Nestor Bayona Pifarre, winner of the Gold Medal at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, who will be the first to play the newly restored piano in the intimate settings of St Mary’s Centre.

The concert will start at 7.30pm and tickets are £15. To book tickets, call 0151 339 7326.

PIANO RESTORED: Catalan pianist Nestor Bayona Pifarre will be the first to play the newly restored piano in the intimate settings of St Mary’s Centre in Chester on April 21.

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