In short:
A 300kg piano has been transported 61 metres underground in a 'world-first' piano concert in a Bendigo gold mine.
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piano → transport → mine
The concert was held in the mine to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the central Victorian city.
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concert → hold → city
Bendigo Fine Music says it's the first time they know of that a concert has been held underground in such a unique venue.
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concert → say → venue
And yesterday that brainwave became reality, with a piano descending into the Central Deborah Gold Mine in Bendigo for a one-off evening performance.
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piano → become → performance
The 300kg piano was formerly owned by Mr Heywood's mother, who was a renowned concert pianist.
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who → own → mother
"It's one of those classic 'don't drop the piano' scenarios," Mr Heywood said.
"
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We couldn't find any evidence that this has been done before.
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this → find → evidence
"It's really quite emotional; it sounds fantastic in here.
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it → sound → ?
There's a timber ceiling and hardstone walls, and they're ideal for musical performance."
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they → be → performance
The Bendigo Fine Music event celebrated 175 years since gold was first discovered in the central Victorian city.
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gold → celebrate → city
"In 1851, it changed our wonderful country forever,"Mr Heywood said.
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Heywood → change → country
"We were always taught in school that basically the riches that followed from gold made possible what would have taken 500 years in European history to be achieved in a mere 50 years to Federation."
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taken → teach → Federation
Friday's concert was limited to 60 attendees, who were allowed to remove their hard hats once in the concert room.
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who → limit → room
Pianist Yasmin Rowe said performing this rare and unusual concert was exciting.
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performing → say → concert
"I've never played underground before, and this is just so special.
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this → play → ?
When I entered this room, I thought it was so, so beautiful," Ms Rowe said.
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Rowe → enter → room
"You've got this millions-of-years-old rock there right behind the piano; the light, the colour, the atmosphere is wonderful."
Ms Rowe and fellow pianist Ian Munro said the underground concert made playing the piano interesting again.
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We have to adjust in real time, so using less pedal cause it's quite reverberant."
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Mr Munro said the rare and unusual concert brought back the memory of a conversation with his piano teacher at the age of 14, who questioned whether he would continue to love playing the piano as an adult.
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"When I was 30 [and still loved playing piano], and now I'm very much older than 30, I'm still very interested; it's still got that magic for me."
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it → love → me
The operation to get the instrument underground was a family affair by Joshua McPherson, his wife Jo and son Sam.
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operation → get → McPherson
Mr McPherson said it was "definitely the most unusual" place he had ever taken a piano.
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he → say → piano
The disassembled instrument was wheeled on a trolley into a lift and rolled along the rocky tunnels of the mine.
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"We were worried about moisture dropping from the ceiling — that was our main concern.
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that → drop → ceiling
[It was] a little bit rough underfoot but nothing scary really," he said.
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Once in place, it was over to piano technician Nic Hamilton to ensure nothing had gone awry on the journey and to tune the piano before the concert.
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nothing → ensure → concert
"It's on the humid side but it takes some hours, perhaps even overnight to seep into the piano and cause any problems,"he said.
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"It's a fun thing to do, and it's very typical of Thomas [Heywood] to come up with projects that are interesting and exciting."
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that → do → projects
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