Classical pianist set to launch debut album with live concert in unique Clipstone setting

Chris Miggells, aged 32, from Boughton, will launch his debut album with a concert at the Clipstone Headstocks on Thursday, August 3.

The concert, a first for the site, will run from 7-8.30pm.

Concert-goers can book a guided tour of the site – earmarked for a multi-use leisure facility – at 6pm, with drinks and food available.

The idea for the concert came about after Chris filmed a live music video for his single ‘Stone Giant’ inside. He said the acoustics within the Cathedral-size powerhouse were “phenomenal” and add to the musical experience.

A documentary has also been released showing a £100,000 Steinway grand piano being raised up into the powerhouse on an original hand-pulled mining crane on Chris’s YouTube channel.

Chris, a former student of The Dukeries Academy in New Ollerton, said his love for music was ignited during his school years.

The 32-year-old undertook additional piano lessons and praised the support from his former school’s music department, as he began to learn the classics, such as works by Beethoven.

Chris said: “I feel consumed to transcribe life experiences into music.”

Through a combination of lessons and self-teaching, Chris studied classical repertoire and enjoyed creating his own arrangements of contemporary music.

Chris said: “The inspiration for this album comes from many sights seen while travelling the world. I am inspired by the Mansfield area too.

“I look at things and hear an internal soundtrack. For example, a visit to the Grand Canyon inspired Stone Giant.

“Another track, Aurora, is the translation of my experience observing the Northern Lights in Iceland.

“I cannot wait to launch my album, Synesthese, here in Mansfield, and share that experience with the community.”

Synesthese is taken from the term synesthesia, a neurological condition for experiencing one of your senses through another, such as seeing colours when hearing music.

Chris said it was extra special to be performing at the former colliery site, as his grandfather, Francis Miggells, was a miner.

Chris said he hoped to emulate the experience of synesthesia with his compositions and praised the collaborative approach to his debut album launch.

He has worked closely with site owner Stuart Mills, director of Mansfield-based Adco Properties, and the team at Sherwood Phoenix, the UK’s largest piano store, on Rosemary Street, Mansfield town centre, on he project

Tickets for the event can be purchased at shorturl.at/GJOUV

Chris said: “This will be an intimate event with a limited 120 places available. It is an opportunity to be part of history in the making, as the feat of holding a piano concert at such a unique location has never been accomplished before and may never be seen again.”