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World Pianist Weekender 2026

Leeds City Museum, 7th and 8th November 2026

Join us for free Piano based events in Leeds City Centre!

Free Piano Lessons | Live Music | Craft Workshops | Family Singing Workshops | Open Mic

Saturday 7 November 2026

10am-3pm Leeds Hospitals Charity Piano Trail Takeover

Piano playing volunteers from the Leeds Hospitals Charity are taking over the Leeds Piano Trail with performances in Trinity, the St. John’s Centre, Kirkgate Market and the Victoria Quarter.

10am-4pm Free Piano Lessons in The Light

A day of free 20 minutes piano lessons with teacher Sian Hughes. Equally suited to both experienced pianists and total beginners. Tickets available through the link above.

Brodrick Hall, Leeds City Museum:

11:00am-4:30pm Piano craft workshops with community artist Dora Goldsbrough

Join us in a range of activities linked to our current Leeds Piano Shed community project.

Design and Model Making:
Design a piano shed, dissect parts directly from a real piano action and then construct your own mini piano shed model.

Make a Thumb Piano (1-2pm):
Create and decorate your own thumb piano using reclaimed piano wood.

11:00am-4:30pm Pop up Photography Studio

Come and have your photo taken by community artist Charlie Swinbourne ahead of our 2027 photography project ‘Pianists of Leeds’. Please book a slot by emailing [email protected].

11:15am-12:00pm Family Sing Session ran by Made with Music

Family Sing Session for children of all ages and their parents, guardians and carers ran by the award-winning charity Made With Music.

11:55am-12:05pm Khanh Nhi Luong Popup Performance

A short performance at the end of the Family Sing by LIPC’s 2024 bronze medallist Khanh Nhi Luong.

1:00-2:00pm Open Mic

Come and perform at our piano open mic! Any piano related performances welcome, if you would like an accompanist, please email [email protected].

2:00-4:30pm Micro-performances by LS18 Rocks, Duncan and Fran Goodwin and Miroslava Makarenko

Popup performances by young bands from LS18 Rocks and local pianists Duncan and Fran Goodwin (Channel 4’s The Piano) and Miroslava Makarenko.

Sunday 8 November 2026

10am-4pm Free Piano Lessons in The Light

A day of free 20 minutes piano lessons with teacher Sian Hughes. Equally suited to both experienced pianists and total beginners. Tickets available through the link above.

The Broderick Hall, Leeds City Museum:

11:00am-4:30pm Piano craft workshops with community artist Dora Goldsbrough

Join us in a range of activities linked to our current Leeds Piano Shed community project.

Design and Model Making:
Design a piano shed, dissect parts directly from a real piano action and then construct your own mini piano shed model.

Make a Thumb Piano (1-2pm):
Create and decorate your own thumb piano using reclaimed piano wood.

11:15am-12:15pm World Premiere of Commissions for The Leeds Piano Trail

Hear the premiere of seven new pieces written by undergraduate composition students at Leeds Conservatoire supervised by Ben Gaunt and performed by 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition ambassador and RNCM student Scott Manson.

1:00-2:00pm Open Mic

Come and perform at our piano open mic! Any piano related performances welcome, if you would like an accompanist, please email [email protected].

2:00-4:30pm Community Choir Workshop

Join singers from local choirs including Harmony Choir, Sally’s Army and Leeds City Museum’s Community Choir for an afternoon of group singing. No experience or prior rehearsal needed, just turn up on the day. The songs that we are focusing on will are Count On Me by Bruno Mars, One Day Like This by Elbow with Hey Jude by The Beatles and Keep on the Sunny Side by The Whites. The workshop will be accompanied by our house band; Bruce Hygate (piano), Freddie Meadon (bass) and Callum Van Schalkwyk (percussion).

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World Pianist Weekender 07 – 08 Nov 26

10:00 – 17:00 Leeds City Centre
Happy World Pianist Day! On the 7th and 8th of November, Leeds International Piano Competition are hosting our World Pianist Weekender in Leeds City Museum’s Broderick Hall to mark World Pianist Day. Join us for Choir Workshops, Craft Actvities and some of Leeds’ most exciting pianists! Other events that weekend include the Leeds Hospital’s Charity takeover of the piano trail on the Saturday in locations such as Trinity and free piano lessons in The Light.