King Country
THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025
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kingcountrynews.nz
MAY 15, 2025
The keyboard warrior By Viv Posselt
Remko Pootjes is on a mission to save discarded pianos and spread the magic of music, and he wants Kiwi companies to help him roll it out. For the past few years, Ōtorohanga’s piano man has been saving unwanted pianos from the landfill or the firepit by turning them into community pianos or bespoke merchandising display units to be leased out. Funds from those leases or sponsors go into providing piano lessons for children… hence his tagline ‘Pianos for Kids’. “Schools today don’t teach piano in the same way they did years ago, so kids wanting to play need to have parents who can afford private lessons,” he said, “and not all kids want to limit their extracurricular activities to sports. “I believe piano lessons should be offered as a lifeskill, like swimming lessons, but when I approached 11 schools in the area asking them to support my concept of teaching kids to play, they all declined. It was either too expensive, the pianos were too heavy, or there weren’t enough kids interested. To me, even one student makes it worthwhile.” Last year, Pootjes set up The Remiano Charitable Trust – a nifty play on his nickname ‘Rem’ and ‘piano’ – as a registered charity to ‘transform old pianos into new opportunities’ and help fund the free lessons. He finds unwanted pianos from wherever he can, brings them to his workshop in Ōtorohanga, and
Remko Pootjes saves pianos – and turns them into works of art.
either restores them to full playing glory or turns them into pieces of furniture. Some go into streets as
community pianos, others become eye-catching bookstands or display units in shops.
Pootjes says there are hundreds of unwanted pianos in communities all over New
Zealand. A quick internet search can unearth around 100 on any given day, some of them going for just a couple of dollars. “It is amazing how many just get dumped.” The trust doesn’t sell the pianos, it only leases them, he said. “People pay a monthly rental fee, but the pianos remain the property of the trust.” Surprisingly, Pootjes doesn’t play the piano himself, but his partner does. The Dutch-born former engineer came to New Zealand in the 1970s, working in his field as well as in sales and in investigations. He is also a volunteer firefighter. The idea to repurpose unwanted pianos came during Covid when a friend asked for helping in dumping an old piano. Pootjes wanted to salvage it … and so it started. In just the past few weeks, Pootjes has launched a new website and is looking for a business partner who will help take his ‘Play Me Pianos’ to most New Zealand cities. He is also fast-tracking a new Piano Depot collection and workshop container concept that he wants to roll out near refuse dumps or zero waste collection points. Through Pootjes’ efforts, people are tickling the ivories in towns all over the region and children who may not otherwise have had the means are learning to play. “We are putting new pianos in towns all the time, and are looking at growing the entire operation,” he said. “There is a lot of interest, so exciting times ahead.”
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