One of our towns’ most whimsical events — Playin’ Around South Orange — kicks off for the third year on Saturday, August 29 at noon, bringing live music and art in the form of hand-painted pianos and outdoor performances to five separate South Orange locations.
The PNC Bank and SOPAC-sponsored project runs from August 24 through October 6 with Wednesday night jam sessions under the Sloan Street Gazebo from 5-7 p.m in September.
Other community supporters of the project include The Baird, Village of South Orange, South Orange Village Center Alliance, and Seton Hall University.
Kick-off festivities will feature live performances by professional musicians at each of the five piano locations from noon until 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 29. Artists will be in attendance at their pianos. With simultaneous mini-concerts happening all over town, the day will be music and art-inspired.
Piano locations are:
- Cameron Park
- The Gateway
- Spiotta Park
- Irvington and W. Fairview Avenues
- The Sloan Street Gazebo
The locations are listed on the SOPAC website as well.
Each year, local artists complete an application process for the honor of transforming an old piano into a contemporary piece of art. On average each artist donates up to 30 hours per piano to bring this musical event to life. Paint and supplies either come from the artists themselves or are donated by local businesses.
Marie Glynn is painting her second piano, having taken on a mermaid-themed upright in 2013, the first year of the project. This year she is turning another “tall” piano into a Van Gogh-inspired piece, with swirls of Starry Night blowing across the front and lyrics from the song “Vincent” wafting around the instrument’s pedals.
Other contributing artists for 2015 are Bill Billec, Larry Ciarallo, Lisa Hirkaler, Columbia High School student Austin Romanaux, as well as Seton Hall University Peer Advisors.
Locals will remember Ciarallo’s and Billec’s pianos from last year, with Ciarallo’s being the Ray Charles baby grand at The Gateway and Billec’s the “car-themed” player piano complete with fuzzy dice under the Sloan Street Gazebo.
This year’s creations promise to be just as interesting riffing on “Blue Suede Shoes” and a portrait of New Orleans pianist “Mac” Rebennack.
Pianos are donated by various individuals from throughout the community. Director of SOPAC Community Engagement, Linda Beard, keeps her eyes and ears open for possible donations all year long, sometimes asking people to “hold on to” their instruments for several months until the summer comes around again. Her goal for the program is “to interrupt the humdrum day-to-day and allow people the opportunity to interact with different genres of art in a unique way.” She says with obvious enthusiasm, “It’s about bringing what we do inside the [SOPAC] building outside the building.”
Weather is an obvious challenge for the instruments. SOPAC staff try to watch the forecast while the pianos are out, but occasionally a compassionate citizen will take notice of an impending storm and spontaneously pull a SOPAC-supplied blue tarp over the artwork, preserving it for a few more improvisational concerts.
“That’s exactly the kind of behavior we are looking to ignite,” noted Beard. “We want the community to take ownership of this experience and realize that these instruments are not ‘ours;’ they belong to South Orange.”
All six pianos will be up for auction on Biddingforgood.com from the point of kick-off until October 4th when Playin’ Around South Orange is scheduled to end. More information on the auction, jam sessions, and the pianos is available on the SOPAC website at https://www.sopacnow.org/
