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The keys to summer

Published 10:47 am Tuesday, July 14, 2015

An artist works to design and decorate an instrument for Pianos in the Parks. All 22 previously owned pianos are procured
An artist works to design and decorate an instrument for Pianos in the Parks. All 22 previously owned pianos are procured

The Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department teamed up to bring two  artist-designed pianos to Island parks for free public use and music exploration.

Mercer Island will participate this year with Seattle’s popular Pianos in the Parks program with instruments at both Mercerdale and Luther Burbank parks.

The program will run from July 16 to Aug. 16, and when it concludes, the pianos will be available for public bidding through an online auction.

People of all skill levels and musical persuasions are invited to take videos of themselves performing at one of the participating pianos, and upload it to the Pianos in the Parks website for a chance to perform at the Seattle Center’s Concerts at the Mural presented by KEXP 90.3 FM on Friday, Aug. 21.

There will be a few professionals at the Island pianos for a MICA-sponsored Brown Bag Concert Series.

Students of Natalaya Agayeva, pianist and founder of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation, will perform at Mercerdale on July 22. Youth Theatre Northwest alumna, Ellen Zahniser and Shaudi Vahdat will be at the park on July 29, followed by MIHS senior and piano protégé Andrew Barnwell on Aug. 5 and pianists Connie Wible (Musical Minds Studio) and Suzanne Zahniser performing tangos, plus an 8-hand keyboard on Aug. 12.

With Pianos in the Park and the weekly concerts, MICA is hoping to give Islanders a glimpse of the types of programming and entertainment it is planning to offer, even though its facility hasn’t been built yet.

So far, MICA has raised $4.8 million toward its $25 million goal, and its building has moved from the conceptual design phase to a more concrete proposition, especially because the designers already know who the potential tenants and users will be.

MICA is also sponsoring live musicians at the Farmers Market, and will provide shady spaces and public restrooms during market times when the facility is completed.

There will be a kick-off celebration for Pianos in the Parks at noon on July 16 at Lake Union Park in Seattle.


 

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