Seaboard Stories: Reach Far

Published on May 1, 2015 ROLI

"‘Reach Far’ is the first in a series of films about people using the Seaboard GRAND to do new and exciting things. Find out how Central Bucks High School West​ in Pennsylvania became the first ever school to own a Seaboard and ended up putting on a concert featuring their students and Grammy-winning Snarky Puppy​ keyboardist Cory Henry​. You can read the full story from ROLI founder and Seaboard inventor Roland Lamb at https://www.roli.com/blog/seaboard-st...."

And the press release:

Pennsylvania high school students and community come together to 'Reach Far' with Seaboard GRAND
New musical instrument inspires high school community to raise funds and put on special concert event.

LONDON, UK - ROLI, the award-winning East London design-led technology company and creator of the innovative Seaboard GRAND, released a short film entitled ‘Reach Far’, which tells the story of Central Bucks West High School’s journey to become the first high school in the world to acquire a ROLI Seaboard GRAND - and captures how the instrument inspired them to produce a unique student concert and community event.

On January 17, 2015, CB West High School students, faculty and alumni organised and participated in a concert in Pennsylvania that centered on a series of diverse Seaboard-inspired performances. The concert featured original pieces written specifically to highlight the Seaboard GRAND, in addition to reinterpretations of standard classical and jazz repertoire. The school’s band director, Neil Delson, led the concert event which also included composer alumni, and guest artist Cory Henry (acclaimed solo artist and Grammy-winning keyboardist for Snarky Puppy).

Roland Lamb, ROLI Founder and CEO, wrote on the ROLI blog about how the concert came to be organised: “One of [Neil’s] students, Sam Schumacher… had seen a video of the Seaboard GRAND on YouTube. Neil... shared his infectious enthusiasm with other students and teachers at the school. This sparked burgeoning interest among the wider community, with parents and board members forming a ‘Seaboard Committee’ who in turn partnered with the music department and OOKA, a local Japanese restaurant, to raise the funds to purchase a Seaboard GRAND Limited First Edition.”

He went on to describe the atmosphere on the day itself, as months of rehearsal and preparation came together for what was to be a unique performance: “I arrived the afternoon of the concert, and from the moment I walked into the band room, I was struck by the musical ambition among the students... The gravity of passion in the room was inspiring, and I felt both the power of music in bringing people together, and the power of people in creating new musical experiences,” Lamb said.

‘Reach Far’ will be the first in a series of short films about people making music with the Seaboard in innovative ways that will feature on ROLI’s recently relaunched website.

The Seaboard GRAND, hailed as "a visionary electric piano” and "the piano of the future”, reimagines the piano keyboard as a soft, continuous, pressure-sensitive surface. The Seaboard’s patented SEA interface technology allows players to manipulate notes through subtle gestures of their fingers in real-time, marrying the intuitiveness of a traditional instrument with the versatility of digital technology. ROLI has brought together years of innovation in several disciplines to realize this concept as a refined product, which has earned them accolades such as the SXSW Music Accelerator and the Design Museum’s Design of the Year, Product.