Pop-Up Pianos: Day 8 in Pictures

Piano #19: Van Cortlandt Park.  Decorated by BD Wong.

Another shot of Piano #19.  I took this picture while I was waiting to play.  The keys were a bit challenging to press on this piano.

Piano #20: Highbridge Park!  This time, the piano was unlocked!  The sun was out in full force, so I only played two songs here, "Arithmetic" and "Awake."

Ray Charles

Piano #21: St. Nicholas Park.

Piano #22: Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  The highlight was playing "Gravity" for a few cyclists who stopped to listen while I played and sang.  I was so happy with my performance that I decided not to play any more songs at this piano after "Gravity."

Piano #23: Central Park - Bandshell.  After stopping at the Dana Discovery Center  (only to discover that the piano had been taken away without warning last night supposedly for repair), I made my way down to this piano.  There was an event going on, so there were lots of people, and there was even a band playing, but that didn't stop people from playing the pop-up piano!

Pink gorilla!  This piano had a beautiful sound.  Despite the background noise of the event, I could still tell.  If I have time, I'll try to return to this piano.

Piano #24: Riverside Park.  Last year, there were two pianos here and people took turns playing the pianos.  This year, even with only one piano, the tradition of turn-taking held up!  This woman played and sang an awesome medley!

This girl played "Here Comes the Sun."

On the way to Roosevelt Island for the first time!

Piano #25: Roosevelt Island.  This man let me play right after he finished up his  song -- I'm not sure how long he'd been there before I got there, but he could sense that I was ready to play.  When I played, a black and orange butterfly landed on the piano, and that made me very happy.  After I finished playing, this man and I compared notes on our piano experiences.  He had played 20 pianos and told me which pianos were a little funky or great in Staten Island and Brooklyn, and I told him my appreciation for the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center.  We both raved about the baby grand at Rubenstein Atrium!

Piano #26: Carl Schurz Park.  It took a while to find this piano!

Surprisingly, the piano was a little out of tune and the keys were a bit sticky to the touch, but I played three songs anyway.  :)