Sing for Hope Pianos: Day 4

Hello, hello! Today is Sunday, June 16th. Thankfully I wrote the first couple parts of this blog on my iPod Touch while riding the Staten Island Ferry on June 4th. That was a smart move, and I'm glad I did it. I am now racing the clock because I have been asked to participate in the finale of the 2013 Sing for Hope Pianos concert at Lincoln Center.  (Yes, I went home to practice, haha!  And cool off.)  More on Day 16!  Without further ado, here is Day 4!

Although I didn't get the chance to go to South Street Seaport on Saturday, June 1st, it just goes to show that everything happens for a reason. It's so perfect how things line up if you let them.

First, work hard. Then play hard. After finishing up my work "to do" list, I got green light at work to go "piano surfing."

I hadn't eaten a substantial lunch, just a whole bunch of organic grapes for hydration. I missed out on the Cinnamon Snail's dinner service near Union Square the night before (June 3rd) and decided to check their location on Facebook. Wall Street and Water Street. Perfect! I could grab lunch and play the piano at South Street Seaport!

After a train ride on the 1 with a transfer to the express 2, I made it down to Wall Street in the last hour of Snaily's lunch service. I ordered my favorite sandwich: the ancho chili seitan and a mango & lemongrass donut.

Piano #11: South Street Seaport. I headed over to South Street Seaport with my food and decided to check out the piano's location before eating. And as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to play right away as nobody was playing. In my three years of doing this, I've learned to seize opportunities as they come.

I quickly took pictures and then sat down to play.

After seeing this piano at the piano buddy info session, I knew I had to visit it.

I was all about finding the secret message.

Found it!  Love it!

When I finished playing a song from my core trio, a lovely couple who just moved here from Mexico walked up to me and asked me about the piano, so I told then about the 88 pianos available for anyone. I asked them if they played, and the woman said she was just learning.

Next up, I played back-to-back pieces from my core trio. In my line of sight, I could see at least one woman standing and listening to me play. After I finished she approached me and asked me if I wrote the song I just played. I told her it was a cover, and I asked her if she played. She said no but that she had designed the piano. How cool is that?! I got the chance to meet the artist, Laura, and tell her I loved her work. I had seen the piano at the piano buddy information session and loved finding her secret message (ha, yes I waited until this blog to post pictures of it). But then, she told me there are TWO secret messages -- one message for the school or hospital where this piano will eventually be donated and one message for anyone to find if the lid is down. She didn't give it away, and I am so glad for that. She offered to take my picture with my camera, so I played Lullaby for Eliana.

Photo taken by Laura.

Another photo taken by Laura.

During my performance, a little boy came up to the piano and would hide his face from me. I wanted to "find him" like in Hide and Seek, but I would have to stop playing to do that. Instead, when he popped his head back up, I smiled at him. When I was done, I asked him if he'd like to play and scooted the bench closer for him to sit down.

Lunch break!

The ancho chili seitan burger, aka my favorite sandwich from The Cinnamon Snail.

Mango lemongrass donut! Holy moley, it was amazing!  I didn't really taste the lemongrass, but the mango was SO GOOD. P.S. not sure why this uploaded sideways

After eating, I returned to the piano to look for the secret message available for all.  A woman was taking pictures of the right side of the piano, and we started talking about the art project.  I mentioned to her that I had just met the artist and was looking for the second secret message.  We both started to look, and then when I read Laura's dedication on the side, I realized it didn't end!  When I turned the corner, the period of the last sentence was on the back of the piano, and there was more!  So, now that the pianos have all been moved to Lincoln Center, I feel okay with releasing this video.  Perfect timing.


There is no sound on this video -- I muted it and couldn't find 19 seconds of the perfect soundtrack. Just letting you know before you think there is something wrong with your speakers!
Piano #12: Staten Island Ferry. I took the M15 bus down to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and was able to catch the next ferry right away.  The universe was conspiring in my favor.  (I think it still is, by the way.)  When I arrived at St. George, a man was playing this beautiful baby grand, representing 12 pianists, 6 males and 6 females.  Six well-known artists and 6 lesser-known artists.

Manhattan in the distance.

This top/lid was made to look like show art for a Playbill cover.  Cool, huh?

This is the artist's signature!

I knew I still wanted to play more pianos after Staten Island Ferry.  I only played two songs there before leaving.  I decided to head uptown, but first I picked up a couple cupcakes and green juice from Blossom du Jour.  I kept laughing while riding the subway.  Cupcakes and green juice?  Unhealthy and healthy?  That's how I roll!

I stopped by the piano at Morningside Park, but it was located in a children's playground, and the rules stated you had to accompany a child in order to enter.  Well, there were kids playing the piano, and I wasn't going to interrupt them anytime soon, so I enjoyed a red velvet cupcake while listening to the kids play.  Then I headed west...

Piano #13: Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Like some select locations, Cathedral of St. John the Divine has had a piano all three years of the piano art projects.  This particular piano with its Renaissance angels seemed like the perfect fit.  After I finished playing my core trio of songs, a woman asked me if I knew any Carole King.  Sorry, no.  I think I need to expand my repertoire next year.  Not necessarily Carole King, but at least one or two songs people know.  (But it's always still nice when people recognize Brooke Fraser.)  To finish, I played Lullaby for Eliana.

Girls playing when I arrived.

Okay, I have to get ready to return to Lincoln Center for the finale! Stay tuned...

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.  :)

Play Me, I'm Yours... Day 7

Day 7 already? This is going by way too fast. Granted, my personal start was delayed, but I am making the most of it.

I didn't go to bed until about 2 am. Performing has been a thrill and a rush, so I was naturally wired. However, I woke up this morning a little past 9 and could have slept, but the sun was too bright. My body and mind were exhausted. I had a specific goal to visit two pianos today and made sure I was fully hydrated before going out into the heat and humidity of the early afternoon. Here's the piano recap:

Piano 12: St. Nicholas Park at 135th Street

I took the A train to 145th and transferred to the C for one stop further. At 135th Street, I exited the station and made a pedestrian U-turn into St. Nicholas Park. Did a quick scan of the park and spotted the piano, still covered in plastic, so I'm assuming I was the first player of the day.

Favorite piano bench thus far

I quickly took pictures and then sat down to play "Arithmetic" from memory. A couple women came up to take my picture, and one of them said, "Hello?" She wanted me to look up and pose! I got a big kick out of it, so I smiled while she took some pictures. She asked me if there were other pianos in the city, and I said yes and I would show her after I was done playing. Mind you, everything I just described took place while I was still playing "Arithmetic"! After I finished the song, another woman by the name of Michelle (she was wearing a nametag) asked me if I had been to other pianos, and I told her this was my 12th. She said that when they found out a piano was coming to the park, they asked if they should have soothing music playing in the background, but the parks department said no. I also told her that I was trying to visit as many pianos as possible, and she described that one man was attempting to document all 60 on video. I then said that I had noticed people taking pictures of me, but none had volunteered to e-mail their pictures, and then she said she would e-mail me hers, but she also offered to take my picture with my own camera, so I gladly took her up on the offer! Here I am playing "Nightminds."

And she surprised me further by letting me know she took a video! Thank you, Michelle! She told me to stop by her exhibit after I was done playing.



I played "Scarlet" (complete with a D key intact on this particular piano, yes!) and then expanded my performance repertoire with "Your Eyes" from RENT and "Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon, famously recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Now, I learned to play "Your Eyes" many years ago, but I hadn't played it in a very long time.  "Grow Old With Me" was a song I first learned strictly as an accompanist for my fellow choir peeps the summer between 8th and 9th grade. We played for my science teacher's wedding ceremony. This was the first time that I played and sang the song in public.

When I finished, I stopped by Michelle's art exhibit and said hello to the group of women who had just heard me play. They were all so wonderful to speak to.  I gave my printout of the piano locations to the first woman who had asked me about the pianos while I was playing "Arithmetic" and she was very happy that I gave it to her. Part of me didn't want to leave St. Nicholas Park because I had such a lovely time there, but it was time for me to head to the second and final piano of the day...

Piano 13: Cathedral of St. John the Divine
I got back on the C train and headed to 110th Street. Walked to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Luckily, I had seen pictures on the Play Me, I'm Yours website, so I knew where to look
for the piano. Come to think of it, I should do that for my future adventures to make the most of it all.

A teen boy was playing softly when I got there, so I sat down to wait. Then this teen girl asked if she could play. She played Ballade Pour Adeline (thanks to Janice for identifying the piece for me via a humming voicemail!), another piece, and then she asked her dad if she could playing something different, and he said sure. She played -- wait for it -- "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. Awesome!

When she got up, I took to the piano -- this time I didn't bolt, but I was ready to take my turn. Being that it was so close to the cathedral, I just knew that I wanted to play something appropriate, so I played "Hymn" by Brooke Fraser. Unfortunately, the pedal wasn't working on the piano, but I did what I could to honor the piece and honor the place.

I played "Arithmetic" from memory and realized just how much I need the pedal. "Nightminds" was next, and I ended my session with "Your Eyes." Without the pedal, I made sure to hold down the notes played by my left hand to create the effect of the pedal. Jonathan Larson's nod to La Bohème in that song still gets me every single time. What a pleasure to play.

Total Pianos Played By Borough:
Manhattan: 11 pianos
Queens: 2 pianos