May, Sweet May! May 2026 MeetUp

Hello, Piano Friends,

Just sending a final reminder for our Spring meet up tomorrow, May 16th @ 2 p.m. I am so excited to see many old friends and newcomers to our wonderful group! As is typical around this time of year, we may have a large group tomorrow.

I wanted to give you all the head's up that Saturday might be a busy day downtown. There is a Crosstown Classic this weekend.; the White Sox will be playing a home game against the Cubs at 6:10 p.m. To the extent that this may affect travel or traffic, please adjust accordingly. Also try to arrive a few minutes before 2 p.m., so that you have a chance to warm up briefly on the lovely Fazioli.

We also have at least four newcomers joining us tomorrow! To our newcomers, let me welcome you in advance. As a reminder, you are not obligated to play on your first day, but certainly welcome and encouraged to do so! A few of you have asked whether you can bring a guest, to which the answer is yes!

As a reminder, we welcome all levels and all genres, including classical, jazz, gospel, pop, original compositions, etc.)! Performers are typically allotted 7-9 minutes a piece. While we certainly do not require perfection or complete performance readiness, out of courtesy to your fellow performers, please don't bring pieces that you are sight-reading for the first time, or pieces that you can't play faster than a slow practice speed.

Thomas Zoells, owner of the amazing PianoForte and our wonderful benefactor has so graciously carved out a 3-hour block roughly every other month for our group, including use of a staff member to attend to the stage. This is time which he essentially donates, as we are not paying the going rate for this block. As such, I ask for a modest $10 donation from all attendees towards the lovely venue and yummy refreshments afterwards. You can pay me on site in cast or via Venmo or Zelle.

Finally, if you can't make this next gathering, fear not. There are a few more gatherings this year, in addition to some other regional gathering opportunities which I will share with you all.

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Audra