Play Me, I'm Yours

For three weeks beginning April 12, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra brings Play Me, I'm Yours to Los Angeles. Touring internationally through 22 cities from New York to Sydney since 2008, Play Me, I'm Yours is an artwork by artist Luke Jerram. Thirty pianos, designed and decorated by local artists and community organizations, are featured across Los Angeles County and are available for everyone to play, in celebration of acclaimed conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane's 15th anniversary as LACO (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra) music director. Visit laco.org to learn more about Jeffrey and the Orchestra.

For three weeks until the end of the installation on May 3, the pianos are available to you and any member of the public to play and enjoy 24 hours a day. Go to their website streetpianosLA.com and upload photos and videos of you playing the pianos. The event kicked off on April 12 at 12 noon with the "lunch launch" of Play Me, I'm Yours, with a simultaneous play-in of the Preludes from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier by thirty pianists, including promising local music students as well as acclaimed musicians, at all 30 pianos.

Designed to foster hubs of creativity through spontaneous music-making, pianos are decorated by local artists– celebrated and amateur, children and adults, able-bodied and disabled – and installed in high-traffic shopping centers, corporate centers, schools and other public spaces in Downtown LA, Santa Monica, Monterey Park, Watts, San Pedro, Panorama City and Points Between. Scroll down or go to their website to find one near you.

Says LACO Executive Director Rachel Fine, “With the pianos serving as blank canvases upon which people can share their own creativity, we look forward to hearing our neighbors, co-workers, and other fellow Angelenos play these instruments. Beyond solo playing, we encourage choirs, bands, other musical ensembles and even dancers to incorporate rehearsals or jam sessions at the piano sites. Some people may seek out all 30 pianos to see the different locations as well as the unique visual aspects of each instrument. The pianos are there to be enjoyed by everyone.”

In Los Angeles, LACO has organized the donation of 30 upright pianos from generous individuals and organizations facilitated by the Hollywood Piano Company. Additionally, the Orchestra invited visual artists to paint the pianos and community organizations to decorate them and act as site hosts. It has also arranged for “piano buddies” (volunteer caretakers) to oversee the care of each piano throughout the three-week period. Each piano is equipped with a plastic cover in case of rain, and the pianos will be tuned throughout the installation to ensure playability. After each presentation of the project, the pianos are donated to schools and community groups in the area.  “Play Me, I’m Yours” is a capstone to Discover the Arts LA, a city-wide celebration of the arts created annually by LA INC.

Pianos are on display and accessible for public to play 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at the following locations:

Downtown Los Angeles

• 1. Bunker Hill: California Plaza
• 2. Bunker Hill: Wells Fargo Center
• 3. Chinatown Central Plaza
• 4. International Plaza, Ronald Tutor Campus Center, University of Southern California
• 5. L.A. LIVE
• 6. Los Angeles City Hall Complex
• 7. Music Center of Los Angeles County
• 8. Olvera Street: El Pueblo Historical Monument
• 9. Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts
• 10. Union Station

San Gabriel Valley/The Foothills

• 11. Claremont: Rhino Records
• 12. Glendale Community College
• 13. Old Pasadena: One Colorado
• 14. Pasadena Conservatory of Music
• 15. Pasadena Playhouse District: Vroman’s Courtyard

Santa Monica/Westside

• 16. Royce Hall, UCLA
• 17. Santa Monica: Annenberg Community Beach House
• 18. Santa Monica Pier
• 19. VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

Hollywood/Mid-City

• 20. Hollywood: Egyptian Theatre
• 21. Nate Holden Performing Arts Center
• 22. William Grant Still Arts Center
• 23. 5900 Wilshire Boulevard: The Variety Building

South LA/Harbor area

• 24. San Pedro: Warner Grand Theatre
• 25. Torrance: Cultural Arts Center Plaza
• 26. Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club

Eastside

• 27. Boyle Heights: Los Angeles Music and Art School
• 28. Monterey Park: Atlantic Times Square

San Fernando Valley

• 29. North Hollywood: El Portal Theatre
• 30. Panorama City: Plaza del Valle

ARTISTS DECORATING PIANOS:

Individuals

• 1. Alexander Mihaylovich
• 2. Christine Mason Miller
• 3. Danny Heller
• 4. Evan Skrederstu
• 5. Frank Cubillos (Colombian-American artist)
• 6. Frank Romero (Chicano art movement leader)
• 7. Kent Twitchell (muralist whose massive mural “Harbor Freeway Overture” on the 110 Freeway in Downtown LA was painted 20 years ago in homage to LACO and features LACO musicians)
• 8. Mike Rosell
• 9. Oscar Magallanes
• 10. Peizhi Yu & Qian Yu (Chinese calligrapher and son)
• 11. Ray Mc Cray
• 12. Roseline Seng (graphic designer)
• 13. Timothy Andres (composer/pianist/artist who received LACO’s 2012 Sound Investment commission)

Organizations

• 14. Arts & Services for Disabled, Inc.
• 15. Braille Institute
• 16. Canoga Park Youth Arts Center
• 17. Crossroads School
• 18. Fabian Debora, Homeboy Industries
• 19. Gino Gaspara, Armory Center for the Arts
• 20. Andre Miripolsky, Hollywood Arts Council
• 21. Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra musicians and staff and their families
• 22. Los Angeles Music and Art School
• 23. New Roads School
• 24. Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts
• 25. Raoul De La Sota & Pola Lopez, Avenue 50 Studio
• 26. Ryman Arts
• 27. Shan Chao & Cindy Suriyani, in collaboration with Chinatown Service Center
• 28. The HeArt Project, in collaboration with graffiti artist Man One
• 29. Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club
• 30. William Grant Still Arts Center, with AISE

In addition to the many community partners donating time, space and assistance to help make the installation possible, “Play Me, I’m Yours” sponsors include Wells Fargo Foundation; Faucett Family Foundation; and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; with in-kind support from LA INC. and Discover the Arts LA; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; and the Hollywood Piano Company. Media sponsors are the Los Angeles Times and Classical KUSC 91.5 FM.