UPDATE: This event came to a conclusion at 8pm on 12th October.
Over 1,000 devices tuned in to the event, and we received such fantastic support. THANK YOU so much for supporting us. But a massive THANKS to Michael for his inspiration for the event, and for sitting at the piano for 14 hours!! If you missed it LIVE, you can still return/rewind to the recording on YouTube, and perhaps more importantly still donate using the link below.
Here’s to next time!
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A huge challenge!
14 hours of interactive piano playing!
Starting at 5:30am!
Get involved! – you can donate online, and participate online. Michael Blowers is undertaking a huge challenge of playing the piano for every hour that represents 10 years of The Salvation Army in Staple Hill – that’s 14 hours of Piano Playing.
Of course, this isn’t for fun! – it’s to raise much needed funds to allow us to complete our building refurbishment.
You can:
1 – send him a message of encouragement via the live link
2 – send him a music request to be played
3 – Donate online!
Access the live stream HERE
You can donate HERE
We interviewed Michael about the event to understand a little more about his motivations for putting himself through all this!…
Q1… WHY are you doing this Pianothon?
Last year, our building underwent significant development and refurbishment in order to better serve our local community. Then, back in February of this year, at the start of the 140th Anniversary year of The Salvation Army in Staple Hill, when the refurbished hall was opened and celebrated, our officer Major Colin Hylton-Jones, informed us all that the plans had been drawn up before the Pandemic, but because prices had gone up so much, and additional works had become necessary, there was funding shortfall of around £75,000. He encouraged us to think about ways that we might be able to address that shortfall.
So I started thinking about what I could do… I don’t have much money and I’m not very entrepreneurial, but I can play a tune on a piano! Shortly afterwards one of the band members, Mark Dickens, said to me “I could listen to you play all day”.
So here we are… and like the boy with the loaves and fishes, I might not have much, but what I have got I’m happy to share, particularly if others can benefit from it!
Q2… WHAT exactly are you doing?
I’ll be playing the piano… one hour for every decade of the Corps’ history – so 14 hours! I see it as a celebration of the role of the piano in the mission and ministry of the corps over those years, and a tribute to all those who have given of their time and talents to play it.
Seven sessions, two hours each, with a 5 minute break between each one, so I’ll start at 5.30am and finish at 6pm.
Each session will start with one verse of The Founder’s Song, “O, Boundless Salvation” of which there are seven verses in total, and end with a Benediction. In between there will be a real ‘mixed bag’ of hymns and songs from across the decades, choruses and some Songster songs. The idea is that each session will loosely follow the pattern of progressing through a typical Sunday from years gone by: Prayer, Holiness, Praise and Salvation meetings.
People are welcome to come along and listen, or join in, throughout the day, but the last session (6-8pm) is intended to be a real ‘open’ time of worship and fellowship, where people can come and share in ‘cafe church’ environment and celebrate the end of the event together.
Q3… WHERE & WHEN is it taking place?
The Salvation Army, Broad St, Staple Hill, BS16 5LN
12th October 2024
5.30am-8.00pm
Everyone Welcome
Coffee Morning 10am-12pm
Open PAWS (Praise And Worship Songs) 6.00-8.00pm
Q4…HOW can people get ‘Interactive’ and participate in the event?
People can ‘Get On Board’ the S.H.I.P. In several ways…
Come along and listen, sing along, make requests and make donations.
If they can’t make it in person, people can also watch the livestream event on YouTube, send greetings and requests via the website, and make donations online via the QR code on the screen.
Q5… WHO are you, and have you done something like this before?
My name is Michael Blowers, and I started attending Staple Hill Salvation Army about 5 years ago. My piano playing is only what I’ve managed to pick up and adapt over the years. I only ever had one piano lesson – when In was 7 years old – where I was told I’d never be able to play. I subsequently learnt three chords (C, F &G) and tried to make them fit with any tune I knew, which I figured out with the other hand.
About 40 years ago I played the piano for an hour to raise money to purchase a Salvation Army flag for a youth group called Corps Cadets, but I’ve never played for two hours in one go… and certainly never done fourteen hours in one day!
