For Locations of Pianos and Performances and More Information, Call 311 or Visit NYC.gov
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Sing for Hope Co-Founding Director Camille Zamora and Make Music New York Founder Aaron Friedman today announced Play Me, I'm Yours, a two-week citywide music program that will feature 60 public pianos in public spaces throughout New York City.
The program kicks off on June 21 at Make Music New York, a one-day festival featuring more than 1,000 free musical performances at locations in all five boroughs, and will run through July 5.
The pianos are artworks as well as instruments and will be individually decorated by local artists, students and volunteers, and New Yorkers and visitors from around the world will be encouraged to play them. The Play Me, Im Yours installation is presented by the nonprofit organization Sing for Hope, in partnership with Make Music New York and the City of New York.
Joining Mayor Bloomberg at the announcement, held at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City where one of the pianos will be located, were Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin and the artist who conceived of the public piano installation Luke Jerram.
Many people never touch a piano, so we are bringing pianos to the people, says Sing for Hope Co-Founding Director Camille Zamora. This large-scale project is made possible by Sing for Hopes artist peace corps professional artists from New York's leading companies who volunteer in Sing for Hopes outreach programs.
This year, we are proud to offer more than 1,000 musical events, all free, in public spaces throughout the five boroughs of the city, said Make Music New York Founder Aaron Friedman. From well-known artists to amateur strummers, from rappers to opera singers, Make Music New York brings an unparalleled variety of musical offerings to our city's public spaces. You may encounter a community chorus, a gaggle of ukulele players, even a battle of the bands featuring hard-rocking corporate execs on their lunch break.
The fourth annual Make Music New York day is bigger than ever, presenting free live music to thousands of people in neighborhoods across the City," said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin. “And this year, we are pleased that Sing for Hopes Play Me, I'm Yours will offer New Yorkers in all five boroughs even more access to the cultural opportunities that are critical to this City's quality of life.
This Citywide initiative is music to our ears, said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. Community projects like this inspire everyone to not only make their own music but take enjoyment in the melodies as well.
One of the great joys of visiting a New York City park is attending one of the many concerts and musical performances that take place each summer, said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. Now in its fourth year, Make Music New York provides a unique festival on June 21 of free concerts in over 100 parks and community gardens, as well as countless other public spaces. With Play Me, Im Yours, 60 pianos are being brought to the public and we hope that New Yorkers take advantage of this unique opportunity to practice their chopsticks.
For further information about Play Me, Im Yours or Make Music New York, New Yorkers and visitors can dial 311 or visit NYC.gov, SingForHope.org, or MakeMusicNY.org.
The piano locations are below (R designates a residential location and 8:00 PM close time):
Manhattan
Lincoln Center (4 pianos)
Central Park
Merchants Gate
Bandshell
Dana Discovery Center
Times Square (2 pianos)
TriBeCa Park (2 pianos)
Riverbank State Park (145th Street) (2 pianos)
Riverside Park (70th Street Pier 1) (2 pianos)
Battery Park
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Madison Square Park
R - Herald Square (at Macys)
Greeley Square
14th Street and 9th Avenue
City Hall Park
Tompkins Square Park (7th Street and Avenue A)
R - Little Red Square (6th Avenue and Bleecker)
R - St. Marks Church / Abe Lebewohl (2nd Avenue and 10th Street)
R - Seward Park (Chinatown)
Harlem Art Park
Bryant Park New York Public Library Terrace
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Gansevoort Plaza
Astor Place
St. Nicholas Park (135th St.)
Chelsea Market
South Street Seaport
Stone Street (Financial Fistrict)
Core Club (Midtown East)
Brooklyn
Prospect Park (2 pianos)
Fort Greene Park (2 pianos)
Brooklyn Bridge Park
McCarren Park
Willoughby Plaza
Columbus Park
Von King Park Bandshell
Coney Island Boardwalk
Queens
Gantry Plaza State Park (2 pianos)
R - Athens Park
Rufus King Park
Hoffman Park
R - Jackson Heights Post Office
Bronx
R - Joyce Kilmer Park
Van Cortlandt Park
R - Grand Concourse between 144th St. and 149th Street
Fordham Plaza
Staten Island
Snug Harbor Children's Museum
Staten Island Zoo
South Beach Boardwalk
Staten Island Ferry Terminal
The Make Music New York festival returns for its fourth year of free concerts in public spaces throughout New York City, all on the first day of summer.
On June 21, from 11:00 AM to10:00 PM, musicians of all ages and musical genres from Hip-hop to opera, Latin jazz to punk rock will perform on streets, sidewalks, stoops, plazas, parks and gardens.
Highlights of this years line up include a Central Park celebration of visionary Greek composer Iannis Xenakis; the Corporate Challenge: guitar-slinging office workers from midtown Manhattans mightiest companies rock for glory in a battle of the corporate bands; A New Orleans-style second line jazz parade, featuring musicians from the Jazz Gallery, Jazzmobile, and other leading institutions, will wind its way from Soho to Lincoln Square up to Harlem; and Punk Island, returns on Sunday, June 20, with more than 100 of the city's loudest bands, playing on Governors Island where there are no decibel restrictions.
This year will also include a Funkfest in Williamsburg; Hardcore and Ska Bands at Wolfes Pond Park in Staten Island; a performance by Folklore Urbano at DreamYard Art Center in the Bronx; and a variety of family music programs at the Queens Children's Center P.S. Q023.
Founded by opera singers with a desire to lift their voices for social change, Sing for Hope mobilizes more than 600 world-class artists from classical musicians to photographers to Broadway performers who donate time and talent in our volunteer service programs that benefit schools, hospitals and communities.
Sing for Hope provides three programs: Art U! (dynamic arts and leadership education for under-resourced youth), Healing Arts (in-hospital performances and workshops that complement the healing process), and Community Arts (events that raise awareness and funds for humanitarian causes, and projects that dismantle barriers to arts accessibility).
Make Music New York was inspired by Frances Fte de la Musique, a celebration of music on the Summer Solstice that brings free concerts to 300 cities all day long. Last year Make Music New York presented 900 concerts with 4,000 musicians at 272 locations throughout all five boroughs of New York City.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
