Yukon musician gets $125K to fly grand piano deep into Kluane park for video shoot

Musician Matthew Lien says he first had the idea about 40 years ago: Could he airlift a grand piano into the remote mountains of Yukon's Kluane National Park to film an epic music video?

Decades later, the answer appears to be yes — thanks to a $125,000 grant from the Yukon government to help Lien and his collaborators make it happen this summer.

The project is one of three that will receive funding this year as part of a one-time initiative to mark the territory's 125th anniversary. The 125 Prize is meant to "inspire the next generation of Yukoners to be bold and creative and to entice others to experience the magic of this place," according to a government news release.

The tourism department received 93 pitches for prize money, and a selection committee "comprising a range of community members from across the territory" settled on the three winning projects, announced this week.

Lien's pitch received the biggest chunk of money.

"I feel, you know, really excited," said Lien on Tuesday.

"Luckily I've found a beautiful full-size grand Heintzman piano that's going to be used for this and it's in beautiful condition, nice and shiny, and it's just going to be awesome up there."

The plan is for Lien, in collaboration with fellow Yukon musician Diyet, to create an original composition in three movements, each representing a different aspect of the vast park's ecosystem. That will happen in the next few months, and then in July, they'll aim to film the video in three representative locations within the park.

"Most of the music will be recorded in the studio, but there's no way I'm going to put a piano onto the icefield and not play that thing, you know?" Lien said.

The plan is also to film the whole process throughout the coming months, and the challenges Lien's team faces as they work to pull it off, and ultimately get that piano into some remote and dramatic places.

"Weather is definitely an issue. But there's so many challenges involved with this, all of which I'm sure we'll overcome," he said.

"It just feels sometimes in life you can feel that there's a script that the universe is preparing for you, and failure in this script, I don't see it as an option ... it's really a once in a lifetime opportunity."

The other 125 Prize winners include a duo who's aiming to compile a collection of quirky and lesser-known Yukon stories from over the years, and a group of climbers planning a first ascent of a certain alpine route in southern Yukon.

Amy Kenny and Tedd Tucker — the story-collecting duo — were awarded $79,305 for their project entitled It's Weird Up Here, which they say will be like "a yearbook Frankensteined together with a Pierre Berton anthology."