Pianist, composer and band director at Penticton Secondary School, Justin Glibbery tickled the ivory in front of a gathering at Nanaimo Square in downtown Penticton on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Glibbery was the first to perform to an audience on the city’s new public piano.
READ MORE: Penticton piano man to launch downtown project for local music scene
The piano, which is open for public use, was installed to enliven Penticton’s arts and culture scene.
Glibbery thinks it will be an excellent addition to the city’s downtown core.
“I’ve seen this kind of concept in many other cities… and when I saw that they were doing this here I thought it was a great idea,” said the pianist.
“I think having an outlet like this for the public is a great, wonderful thing no matter where you are and I’m glad Penticton has finally done it.”
The music scene in Penticton is already thriving, Glibbery explained. Local venues such as the Dream Cafe, Nest and Nectar, and others had become home to frequent shows by many talented local artists before the pandemic hit.
“The music scene is fairly vibrant here… we’ve got great classical piano players, there are great blues artists, there are great folk (music) people… even some of my students are doing some great stuff with heavier rock,” said Glibbery.
When the time is right, Glibbery expects Penticton’s music to continue to grow. He hopes initiatives like the public piano will help bring the local music scene to new levels.
“It’s really great to see human beings express themselves that way and I think Penticton is a great place to do that.”
Glibbery performed a wide array of classics and lesser-known compositions on Wednesday, including the classic crowd-pleaser “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond
Check out some of Glibbery’s performance below:
READ MORE:Piano set up in Penticton downtown
jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter