A packed audience enjoy the 2017 Pentland Piano Festival

Pentland Piano Festival

April 2017

Over 60 pianists aged from 7 to 87 amazed the audience throughout the day on Saturday 18 March at the South Kirk venue for the inaugural Pentland Piano Festival. With participants from across Penicuik, the Lothians, Scottish Borders, and exchange students from Germany and Poland, the venue resounded to a wide variety of music styles and genres.

Encouragement and advice to the players was always on hand from the adjudicator and distinguished pianist Peter Antonelli MBE. The evening concert attracted a wide audience from across Penicuik and beyond. The music was varied, exciting and outstanding, from both solo players and duets. The Festival displayed the wealth of musical ability we have in our community and showed the support provided by our schools in promoting and encouraging such musical talent.

The success of this first Festival, the brainchild of Graham McDonald, senior music teacher at Beeslack Community High School, from which many of the student players came, ensures that it will be back in 2018.

The Orcome Trust financed this inaugural meeting and will have established the Pentland Piano Festival as an annual event.