Play.Out.Loud

During class exchange a Kalamazoo College there is a flow of students from building to building.  The sidewalks get crowded.  The intersection where Thompson meets Academy is claimed by pedestrians and cars loose priority.  There is a chatter of exchanges.  The doors to the library and the fine arts building open and close with a syncopated beat and recently, to harmonize it all, there has been piano music. 

            It is difficult to miss the bright orange piano outside of the Fine Arts Building (FAB) first because of its bright color but more spectacularly the talent of student pianist draw attention to it.  Pianist on campus are no longer hidden in the underground practice rooms in the basement of the FAB.  Though the piano has found a home on Kalamazoo College’s campus, it is not owned by Kalamazoo College.  The Gilmore Keyboard Festival, informally the Gilmore, temporarily installed the orange piano and twelve others equally bright in color in Kalamazoo, Portage and Battle Creek the piano for community use.  The art instillation project is titled Play.Out.Loud and will run from April 26^th to May 12^th, 2012.

            Although it is the first time a project like this has been organized in Kalamazoo, many cities have similar instillations.  The Play.Out.Loud project is modeled after British artist Luke Jerram’s international piano instillation titled, “Play Me, I’m Yours.”  Jerram began installing pianos in major cities in 2008 and has since installed over three hundred pianos in cities like Sydney, Barcelona, Paris, New York and Los Angles with the simple message, “Play Me, I’m Yours.”

            The philosophy behind the pianos in Kalamazoo is a bit different.  Mary McCormick, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, caught wind of Jerram’s art project and thought that the Gilmore and Kalamazoo could recreate this idea in a way that would involve the community and recreate the Gilmore’s image in process.  “One of my personal goals” McCormick explains, “is for the street piano project to dispel any misconceptions about the Gilmore; that it’s only for people that are very knowledge about classical music.  It’s for enjoying music in general and we really wanted to so something that brought the music out of the concert hall and into the community.  We’ve had students say that they didn’t think that the Gilmore was cool until they saw the pianos outside and now they have a whole different impression.”

            It’s not only the students that have been more engaged in the Gilmore through the Play.Out.Loud project.  Lots of Kalamazoo community members donated time and resources to the project.  McCormick started by contacting community members attempting to sell pianos on Craigslist and asked them if they would consider donating to the Gilmore.  “Most people said ‘if you’ll move it, absolutely’” McCormick reported.  “Once we found these pianos we couldn’t just except any piano,” she added.  “The piano tuner had to go out to all these people’s homes and make certain that it was good enough.  We have about four pianos we couldn’t accept.  It would have been too expensive to repair them to get them in good working order.”  Once the pianos were secured, Park Trades Center, a studio art complex, donated studio space to store and prep them.  Douglas & Sons, a locally owned paint store, donated paint.  Homestead Furniture and Cabinetry, a local woodworking business, helped fix piano benches and legs.  H & H Painting, a local painting company, primed the pianos and volunteers put the colors on them.  The community has come together in order for this project to come alive.  “It’s been a project that involved a lot of people but everyone that we’ve approached has been really excited about it,” remarked McCormick.

            The nature of the project organized by the Gilmore Keyboard Festival is by the community for the community.  McCormick speaks for the Gilmore organizers saying, “One of our goals is to make piano or just music in general something that the community is talking about during the festival so that’s it’s a community conversation.”  The bright colors of the pianos make them approachable.  The pianos’ placement in public places like hospitals, Western Michigan University, outside of the Kalamazoo Public Library and at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, that are frequented by diverse races, ages and socio-economic classes grant access to community members that may not have access to a piano.  Play.Out.Loud. is attempting to directly address what McCormick calls the “intimidation factor.”  “There are people my age, I’ll be 60 next year,” that are intimidated by the Gilmore, “because they think I’m not a musician. I’m not trained.  I don’t know classical music.  I can’t go.  I can’t participate.  And that’s so not true.  Number one to attend classical music concerts you don’t need to know classical music to enjoy the sound.  The pianos placed around town are not only creating access to music on site but are attempting to change the way the community view the Gilmore Keyboard Festival.  McCormick hopes because of the pianos more community members feel invited to attend the classical music events at the festival. 

McCormick also sings praise of the musicians playing different music at the festival. “We have so many artists that are not classic musicians just different pianist from so many different genres that are just incredible.”  A few notable artists are Robert Glasper and Conrad Tao.  Glasper just came out with a CD, Black Radio, that’s on the top of the charts.  He was featured in articles in magazines like Downbeat Magazine and Jazz Times.  He was on David Letterman accompanied by Lupe Fiasco and Bilal and interviewed by Jay Leno.  Had different rap artist on his CD.  Conrad Tao made Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Music: The Youngest Stars In The Music Business,” list.  He was the only classical musician on the list alongside other musicians like Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Adele.   He performed with the Detroit Symphony in January.  The reviews were said he was a phenomenal.  Student tickets are five dollars for Glasper, Tao and many other musicians.

Like the musicians at the Gilmore this year, the Play.Out.Loud pianos are attempting to change the way Kalamazoo residents are engaging with music.  The community is donating time, resources and energy to create more access to public music through pianos.  McCormick stresses that with the Play.Out.Loud project, “We’re not asking for you to buy a ticket.  It’s just free.  So just enjoy!”