In addition to teaching ballet classes, Catherine is also a keen amateur pianist. After taking and being successful in Grade 8 ABRSM she continued to play piano duets with her piano teacher. It transpired that she subsequently inherited her late piano’s teacher’s Steinway Grand Piano. This is now housed at Chalk Farm Baptist Church in the main hall. A plan was formed with a friend, who is a fellow amateur pianist (and dance student) to start The Chalk Farm Piano Club, so that others could also enjoy this wonderful instrument.
The main purpose of the club is for other adult pianists of any level to be able to meet and play the piano to each other in a safe and supportive environment. Therefore the emphasis is on it being a friendly, relaxed and non-judgmental experience.
Learning and playing the piano can be a very lonely experience with a huge pressure when one plays to be of a certain level of competence. Other instrumentalists have the opportunity to play in amateur orchestras or other small groups. A pianist can feel that they are immediately thrown into the daunting aspect of being a soloist from the beginning. Therefore it is hoped that this Piano Club will provide somewhere for other pianists to be able to gain confidence and enjoyment in their playing.
The Chalk Farm Piano Club takes place in the hall of Chalk Farm Baptist Church, Berkley Road, NW1 8YR . The first meeting was held on Monday June 8th 2026. It was a truly enjoyable experience for everyone. The Chalk Farm Piano Club will now take place every 2nd Monday evening of each month. After a break for the Summer Holiday, the next meeting will take place on Monday September 14th 2026 at 6.30 – 7.30pm. There is parking in the area after 6pm so this gives everyone time to get there, park and set up, if travelling by car. Otherwise the nearest tube is Chalk Farm (Northern Line)
Participation Fee .There is a small fee in order to cover costs. The hall hire needs to be paid for as well as potential other costs e.g. piano tuning, advertising etc. In time we may extend to including tea and cake. Therefore the fee to participate is currently £10-00 per performance slot. At the moment we are not inviting friends /audience members. However we hope to introduce this in the future if participants feel happy and confident enough for this to take place. At that time the fee for non-participating supporters would be £5-00.
The fee is to paid in advance (details to be given once a performance slot is confirmed) so that it is known how many people will be involved. Numbers will be limited. In 1 hr we could have 5 or 6 performance slots.
The time limit on a performance slot is 10mins. So it could be possible for one person to play 2 pieces within that slot of time.
There can also be the opportunity to play piano duets in case anyone would like to have a go.
Although there will be an audience made up of other performers, it will always be made clear the importance of the environment being friendly, relaxed and non-judgmental. i.e. a safe and supportive environment, as well as a chance to share music with other like-minded people. Most importantly it will be rounded off with a trip to a local pub.
If anyone is interested in taking part in the Chalk Farm Piano Club please contact:
Catherine Minns
chalkfarmpianoclub@gmail.com
Office tel: 0208 348 0262
