Conceived and directed by Dimitri Chamblas and Kate Nordstrum
The world is a room with a piano waiting to be played
Piano for People is a simple, playful and profound journey using a piano as a centerpiece in a grand natural or distinct industrial setting, around which invitations to gather are offered over the course of a single day.
The project is modular – presented as a full day, a partial day, or a drop-in encounter – and can be built up from a menu of elements, or performed as a single formal piece with its own beginning, middle, and end.
THE ELEMENTS
Morning Music (concert)
Program selected for setting by music curator Kate Nordstrum in collaboration with featured pianist
Movement Workshop
Led by choreographer Dimitri Chamblas with piano accompaniment
Music for a Picnic
Food, drinks, music, communion. Guided by Chamblas and unique to each site and presenter intention – from BYO picnics to local chef features – always a moment of relaxation, release, and togetherness.
Music for Napping
Group rest around the piano: closing eyes, laying down, allowing ourselves to drift
Words and Music
Program of poetry or readings with musical accompaniment/interludes
Evening Music (concert into party)
Bespoke concert on the property, ushering us into a magical night of songs, potentially with electronic undercurrent that builds over the course of the evening
THE FORMAL PIECE AT THE CENTER
Movement Workshop–Music for a Picnic–Music for Napping
(approximately 3 hours; fixed score)
(approximately 3 hours; fixed score)
For presenters seeking a single, complete arc rather than the full modular menu, Piano for People can be staged as one formal piece built from three of these elements in sequence.
THE SETTING
Place dictates form. Chamblas and Nordstrum work with each presenter to select a site and set intentions unique to that encounter.THE INTENTION
The simplicity of Piano for People is also what gives it depth. A single piano in a wide-open space is an invitation to gather in the most basic and human way – around music, food, and one another – opened through artistic gesture and participation. Each presenter brings distinct goals and desires, which Chamblas and Nordstrum incorporate into the site-specific form of the work.THE INVITATION
Piano for People invites a spirit of curiosity, gathering, human encounter, shared experience, and desire for open-endedness. Participants of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are welcomed around the piano and are themselves instrumental in creating the work. THE INSPIRATION
This project gained momentum following a Live Music Movement Workshop created by Chamblas and Nordstrum with pianist Adam Tendler for the 2026 Tanglewood Music Festival, presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on Tappan Lawn, accompanied by old-growth trees, a luminous sky, and mountain views. A guest essay by Roger Rosenblatt for The New York Times titled “The World is a Room with a Piano Waiting to be Played” sparked further creative thinking – a piano isn't remarkable for what it can play, but for who might choose to engage with it, where, and what happens between people once they do.