Piano player sails into Halifax to serenade audiences on the waterfront

A sailor and piano player combines her two passions and travels the world performing on the water.

Marieke Huysmans-Berthou has sailed into Halifax with a special piece of cargo on her boat: a piano.

Huysmans-Berthou, a sailor and musician, travels around the world in her boat, performing for audiences with a piano she keeps with her at all times.

“We basically cut a hole in the deck of the boat to allow the passage of the piano and then we invented a system to lift the piano onto the deck,” she said.

Huysmans-Berthou launched the Pianocean project a decade ago to bring together her passions for sailing and music. She braves the rough waters of the oceans to put on concerts in ports everywhere.

“Life on the ocean is amazing but it’s very demanding,” she said.

Huysmans-Berthou recently performed in Lunenburg, N.S., and she is putting on shows on the Halifax waterfront this weekend. She said she first learned about the Maritime province when she heard the song “Farewell to Nova Scotia” when she was 15 years old.

“I promised myself one day I’d go there,” she said.

Huysmans-Berthou said performing with a piano on a sailboat creates a special bond with audiences.

“Sailing makes a whole different connection with people because they know you’ve crossed the sea to reach them and the connection is really, really special,” she said.

Huysmans-Berthou will also perform in St. Peters, N.S., on July 31 and Aug. 2, and Baddeck on Aug. 5 and 8.

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