Students at a west Dorset school have been able to broaden their musical talents even further, thanks to a generous donation.

The team behind Beaminster Festival has donated a brand new upright piano to the music department at Beaminster School.

Following an appeal organised by the festival’s artistic director Lois Pearson, collections were made at a number of this year’s events. In addition to further donations made by the organisers, a total of £3,000 was raised, enabling the school to purchase the much-needed piano for their new music suite, which was officially opened earlier this year in February by Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan.

Andrew Smith, head of music at Beaminster, commented: “A traditional upright piano is a fantastic resource, popular with the students and teachers alike, so we are absolutely delighted that the Festival and other local patrons have come on board with this appeal. Many thanks to them all, and especially Lois Pearson who had the idea of asking the Festival patrons to contribute. This piano, kindly supplied by Compton Pianos of Sherborne, will now serve the music department for many years to come.”

Representatives from Beaminster Festival and the local community recently visited the school to formally hand the piano over, as well as view the new music suite and see the instrument in use by students.

The annual Beaminster Festival is held in summer each year and celebrates music, theatre, art and literature. The 2019 event saw family-friendly workshops and concerts take place alongside performances by top quality musicians, including extraordinary young pianists Eric Lu and Lauren Zhang. A visual arts exhibition, comedy club and a tea dance also kept audiences entertained.

Beaminster Festival returns to the town in 2020 from June 27 to July 7.