Pianos On The Street

Throughout our Pianos on the Street project this summer a lot of people have asked us the same question: how do we choose our locations for each piano? When answering this question we always fall back on the same word: “iconic”.

Every location where we have chosen to place an outdoor piano is in some way or other an iconic location that we feel represents the city. Take for example New Westminster. What is the first place that you think of when you think of this city? What came to mind immediately for us was River Market Quay—a spot that is both beautiful and rich with the history of New Westminster.

The boardwalk where we placed our first piano is ideal in so many ways. It is beautiful for piano players—how many times in one’s life do you get to play a piano adjacent a river full of passing tugboats over which herons fly overhead? It is also ideal for pianists in that there is a built-in audience that comes via the boardwalk.

Our memories of placing a piano at this location are also connected to the people that we worked with at River Market Quay to make it happen. Everyone at River Market was so supportive, enthusiastic and organized in the lead up to the piano’s arrival. They have been truly great partners to work with. This project also received strong support from the Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Area and the Community Living Society (the community group which we recruited to paint our piano at this location) for which we are very grateful.

Placing a piano at New Westminster’s River Market Quay has been a dream come true for us. It doesn’t get much better than seeing the boats go by on the river and watching people strolling on the boardwalk stop to play our instrument and bring music to such a picturesque location.