Los Angeles’ Street Pianos

Future pianist plays at a street piano near the Egyptian Theater. Photo by Adam Winter via streetpianos.com

Between April 12th and May 3rd, 30 pianos were scattered around Los Angeles for anyone to play and enjoy. The project called “Play Me, I’m Yours” was the brainchild of Luke Jerram who has installed more than 600 pianos in 26 cities across the country in the last four years. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra teamed up with local artists and community groups to decorate pianos and work with Mr. Jerram to bring the project to life and the Street Pianos website became a repository for images and videos of professionals and those not-so-professional to share their experiences with the pianos.

Musicians having fun at a street piano in Los Angeles. Photo by Elson Trinidad via streetpianos.com

Mr. Jerram says that the “idea for Play Me, I’m Yours came from visiting my local launderette. I saw the same people there each weekend and yet no one talked to one another. I suddenly realised that within a city, there must be hundreds of these invisible communities, regularly spending time with one another in silence. Placing a piano into the space was my solution to this problem, acting as a catalyst for conversation and changing the dynamics of a space.”

These pianos were a true delight in our city. Helping to create livelier indoor and outdoor spaces and bring passersby together to stop and enjoy beautiful executions of music as they unfolded.