The 50 pianos were hand painted by local and internationally known artists, and will eventually brighten up music rooms in public schools across the city.
BY YANNIC RACK
An arts non-profit that provides artistically embellished pianos for public schools unveiled its new slate of instruments last week with an event in Lower Manhattan that invited kids from all over the city to tickle the ivories and sing with the stars.
Sing for Hope is celebrating the fifth year of its community arts program, providing public schools with 50 pianos hand-painted by local and international artists, and this year’s kickoff event at 28 Liberty St. was a resounding success, according to one participant.
Albert Cordone, a 15-year-old student at Curtis High School in Staten Island crossed the water to Downtown to try out the Sing for Hope pianos on display.
“It was lovely, they were very generous to include us and invite our students,” said Lisala Beatty, a program manager at the non-profit program Music and the Brain, which gives grants to support music education in public schools.
Beatty, who attended the event on June 6 with a group of students from her group’s participating schools, said the youngsters particularly appreciated the chance to try their hands at real, full-sized pianos.
“Our students are usually working on electric keyboards in their school, so it was nice for them to play real pianos,” Beatty explained. “Plus, they really appreciated the beautiful artwork!”
The inspired instruments were designed and painted by artists including singer Jessie James Decker and photographer Bruce Weber over the past few weeks at studio space provided by Fosun Group at 28 Liberty St. The June 6 event featured performances from celebrities including Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and singer Lea Solonga and former Late Night with David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer, who sang along with the student musicians during a lunchtime performance.
“It was a beautiful day,” said Beatty. “Their music teachers were all there, and it was a really fun time.”
After the June 6 kickoff event, the 50 painted pianos were dispersed across the city to high-traffic areas where members of the general public are invited to try them out until June 19, when they will be delivered to public schools.
Following last week’s kickoff at 28 Liberty St., the eye-catching instruments were dispersed across the city to high-traffic areas where members of the general public can try their hands at plinking out a rendition of “Chopsticks,” or regale passers-by with an impromptu recital, depending on their level of talent. Anyone interested in marveling at — and trying out — the painted pianos before the installation wraps up on June 19 can locate them with a free iPhone app called SFH Pianos.
After this weekend, all of the pianos will find permanent homes at city public schools through a partnership with the Department of Education, and will benefit an estimated 15,000 school children, according to the organizers.
If you’re inspired by the project, but not quite brave enough to attempt a street-corner concert, there’s still a way you can participate. A crowdfunding campaign has so far raised a bit more than half of the $25,000 needed to cover the costs of the project. It will run through June 19, and can be found at sfhpianos.splashthat.com.
Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and singer Lea Solonga lent her voice to the Sing for Hope kickoff event on June 6.
