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Having played in a rock band for 15 years as well as taking choirs on tour, I think you should also invest in monitor speakers if you have to provide your own sound system. The main speakers will be pointing toward the audience, making it difficult for the choir to hear the piano. Monitor speakers slant upward from the floor, back toward the performers.

This post is full of personal opinion -- take it FWIW.

a) The previous comment -- on the desirability of "monitor speakers" pointed toward the choir -- is right on point.

I've been in a choir, up on stage, that couldn't hear the organ playing through the church PA system. It was not fun.

b) With 20 people singing, you need speakers that will produce "live piano" levels of sound. So a slab piano and lightweight (not flimsy!) stand, and one or two powered PA speakers, makes a lot of sense.

c) With an audience of 300 people:

. . . Is there a church PA system, that you could play the piano through?

If so, use it.

If not, you'll want (probably) two PA speakers, one on the left-hand side of the stage, one on the right. They should be fed from a _monophonic_ source (that is, they should both get the same signal).

They should be on speaker stands, above the level of the audience's heads, for best results. (Speaker stands are the least-expensive part of this setup.)

One PA speaker might be OK -- depends on the details of your room.

For a two-speaker setup, something like a Yamaha StagePas system might be a good bet. It has some microphone preamps, a mixer, a stereo amp, and two OK speakers, in a neat package. Easy to set up, all matched.

For a monitor speaker (if you need one), something like a Yamaha MSR100 should work nicely. (My EV ZXA1 would work, too.) You might get away without it -- you'll know after the first practice session in the performance space.

d) I think the only _low-priced_ digital piano that's appeared in the past year, and meets your needs, is the Roland FP30. It's worth looking at, along with whatever Yamaha / Roland / Kawai / Casio models already mentioned.

e) If there's a local music store that rents gear, I urge you to _rent_ a digital piano, and sound system, for a weekend, and see how they work for you. It's _much_ cheaper to do your learning with rental gear, rather than buying something that isn't quite what you need.

Have fun, don't break the budget too badly --

Ahhh, many choices, many opinions.

In my mind, there are two paths.

The first path? A great digital piano slab (many options) plus amplification. My opinions on this below.

The second path? A digital piano that recreates the acoustic experience. Given what you've shared, I think that's the better option.

Breaking down the first option, there are many digital piano slabs that could do the job: Kawai, Yamaha, Korg, Roland, Casio et. al. Pick you favorite, not a big deal. The bigger deal in my mind is amplification: how will you connect the instrument with the audience?

The choices here a usually a pair of self-powered amplified speakers, or a central unit that projects omniidrectionally. Lots of choice in the self-powered PA category, two choices in the central unit category: Bose L1s or CPS Spacestation V3.

I've spent big bucks on all this stuff. Works well in a band setting, not so much for an intimate acoustic experience. The top winners here (subjective, yes) are either a Yamaha CP4 or Nord Piano 2 coupled with a pair of RCF TT08a speakers. Bring your checkbook. Some swear by the Kawai slabs. I like the Bose L1 model II and the SSv3 for their enveloping sound. Different, but both competent.

Moving ahead to the digital pianos that attempt to recreate the acoustic experience (with a little help from aux amplification if needed), the clear winner in my mind are the Yamaha AvantGrande series: N1, N2 and (ahem) the N3. Other vendors try to do what Yamaha has done, but none quite with the same results.

As an acoustic piano player, I can sit down at a N3 and let it rip. No compromise, big fun. If you're a clasically trained pianist, you know what to do. The aux out means that I can feed a reinforcement system easily. If it was my money, that's what I would invest in.

My two centavos.

-- Chuck

Thanks for all the updated information. Sounds like amplification is a key part of the performance equation. For both groups, we use an amp for the current keyboards (almost entirely for rehearsal for one group and occasional concert use for another). I'm not sure if we'll be upgrading the amps or not. We have (unspoken) budget constraints, and I think the plan is to get the best keyboard possible for the money.

What are realistic costs for some of the recommended high-, mid-, low-priced digitals? The new Roland FP-90 sounds promising, as does the Yamaha N3 -- not sure where they would fall.

I've been asked if a Casio CDP230 bundle from Costco would be a good investment as a rehearsal instrument. After doing some research, my thought is that it isn't robust enough to be a suitable instrument in terms of sound and action quality, but I may be wrong. I'd think the Casio Privia PX160 would be a better option. I've recommended the Roland FP-30 as the best choice, but there seems to be some question about cost. Any opinions?

I've played on the CDP230, and it's BARELY passable. I'd never choose to buy it, personally.

The Privias are a much better action and instrument, and I'd probably recommend that over the Roland too for those on a tight budget. For the extra $$ it will be well worth it.

Thanks for your feedback on the budget Casio. I'll recommend against it and suggest we look into the Privia line, if the Roland will be beyond budget.

It would be nice to get _spoken_ budget constraints! Without that, you're exploring a room with your eyes closed, wearing boxing gloves.

If you're not the pianist it is usually wise to find the person who _is_ going to be playing, and get him/her involved in the decision. What _we_ think, may be different than what your choir director (or accompanist) thinks.

Thanks to all for the input.

One of the two groups has decided to go with the Roland FP-30. I recommended going with the complete setup, including the stand and integrated three-pedal unit. I understand that the stand is easily detached if the keyboard needs to be moved. Although I didn't play the Roland, I'm confident that it'll be a good rehearsal instrument.

Now I need to work on the second group, which is more of a challenge, primarily because of a very uncertain budget. The group has some money, which we usually reserve to help cover the rental of an acoustic piano once a year, but we may have an option to submit a proposal for a new keyboard for rehearsals and smaller concerts.