Pianos in the Parks return to Mercer Island

Seattle's popular summertime Pianos in the Parks program is making a return engagement this month. Each day — from July 8 through July 17 — a special piano will appear at a local park, waiting to be played for one day only. Then another piano, at another park.

July 12, 2016 7:00 pm
Cyrus Fiene of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle performs at Mercerdale Park in July 2015 during a brown bag concert series hosted by the Mercer Island Center for the Arts in connection with the Pianos in the Parks program. The program returns to Mercer Island on July 14. Katie Metzger/staff photo
Cyrus Fiene of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation of Seattle performs at Mercerdale Park in July 2015 during a brown bag concert series hosted by the Mercer Island Center for the Arts in connection with the Pianos in the Parks program. The program returns to Mercer Island on July 14. Katie Metzger/staff photo

Seattle’s popular summertime Pianos in the Parks program is making a return engagement this month. Each day — from July 8 through July 17 — a special piano will appear at a local park, waiting to be played for one day only. Then another piano, at another park.

Beginning July 8, 10 parks and public spaces across Bellevue, Mercer Island, Seattle and throughout King County will host 10 artistically enhanced pianos for public play. New this year, each participating park will host a free daily musical performance — featuring the piano — from noon to 12:30 p.m.

On Thursday, July 14 the piano titled “Crossings” by artist Cynthia Wessling will appear from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mercer Island’s Luther Burbank Park at Calkins Point. The daily program begins at 11:30 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the park’s redeveloped Calkins Point, followed at noon by “Two Piano Tango,” a duet with Mercer Island’s Suzanne Zahniser and Connie Wible. The performance is sponsored by Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA).

Founder of Musical Minds Studio, Wible is a performer, teacher, adjudicator and public speaker. Wible specializes in autism and music, music wellness for all, and single parenting issues. Zahniser is an attorney and the corporate secretary at Laird Norton Wealth Management, and a former MICA board member.

Other participating parks include Alki Beach Park, Kerry Park Viewpoint, Kubota Garden, Golden Gardens and Westlake Park in Seattle; Crossroads Park and Chism Beach Park in Bellevue; Sammamish River Trail in Redmond; and Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation.

In addition to the 10 park pianos, a piano will be available for public use every day for the duration of the program at KEXP Plaza (at Seattle Center). Ticketed passengers will also find a special piano at Sea-Tac International Airport’s central terminal greeting passengers flying to and from the city of music.

“We are proud and thrilled for the return of Pianos in the Parks on Mercer Island, as nature and the arts blend together along the shorelines of Lake Washington,” said Bruce Fletcher, director of Mercer Island Parks and Recreation, in a statement.

Pianos in the Parks, made possible by Laird Norton Wealth Management, is designed to encourage the discovery of parks through music and art by placing one-of-a-kind, artist-designed upright and grand pianos in parks for free public use and music exploration.

The pianos — all previously owned — are procured, repaired, tuned, transported and maintained by Bellevue-based Classic Pianos, and are painted at Seattle’s Urban ArtWorks by student, alumni and faculty artists of Gage Academy of Art.

The complete park schedule is available at http://pianosintheparks.com/.