By Harriet Flehinger
Sing for Hope, the non-profit organization that brought street pianos to New York in 2010 is back…with extra added trills and keyboards. Sixty brightly hand-painted uprights and, for the first time this year, 28 grand pianos will be on the streets, beginning Saturday June 18, for two weeks. Step up, sit down, flex your fingers and begin to play.
Pianos will be scattered across the City. On the Upper West Side, you can find them at Lincoln Center, on Pier i (70th St. in Riverside Park), at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, at the Central Park Band Shell, and the Central Park Visitors Center (formerly Tavern on the Green) — see the map below for a handy guide.
New this year, Pop-Up Concerts featuring volunteer artists are scheduled. The piano near Alice Tully Hall will have concerts almost every evening from 6-6:30PM and several at 1:00PM. The Piano in Riverside Park will have concerts 6/27 & 7/1 at 6:00PM.
Each piano has been hand-painted by volunteer artists. After you visit a piano, find out more about each artist here.
Last year, small crowds gathered around musicians as they picked out tunes, I recall coming out of a Lincoln Center performance about 10:30 on a warm summer evening, and becoming part of an impromptu sing-along at a piano in front of Alice Tully Hall. The ring-leaders were Julliard students, singing old Broadway show tunes, for the enjoyment of about 25 people gathered around. How wonderful to know the talent we have in our UWS backyard.
Home page image of piano in Riverside Park by Ed Yourdon via flickr.
