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. :)
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
