Play Me Again Pianos, a nonprofit charity dedicated to installing and permanently maintaining 88 public pianos throughout the Atlanta area, announced today its newest piano will be unveiled at Wills Park Equestrian Center on Sunday, July 15, at 3 p.m. Play Me Again Pianos invites the community to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the piano named "Morgan." The event will feature a brief performance, after which Morgan will be open for everyone to play and enjoy.
"Street pianos and public pianos inspire people to connect with each other in ways that were once common, but seem increasingly rare. By adding our pianos to the landscape throughout the metropolitan area, we hope to nurture that connection into an evolution of Atlanta's culture, community and the arts," said Jason Brett, co-founder of Play Me Again Pianos.
Morgan was painted with a stunning equestrian theme by Sandra Barth. "With all its different angles, curves and irregular shapes, pianos present quite the challenge to a painter," said Barth. I've really enjoyed working on this beautiful instrument and hope to honor Lautrec, Degas and other artists who have loved horses through the ages. Many thanks to Jeanne Moorman for generously donating her piano to be enjoyed at such a wonderful location over the coming months and years."
There was a dual motivation for naming the piano 'Morgan'. Morgan was the breed of 'King Bubba', a favorite horse Barth once owned. Additionally, the name is a nod to Morgan Rodgers, the Department Director of the City of Alpharetta Recreation and Parks who reached out to Play Me Again PIanos with the vision to bring public pianos to the parks of Alpharetta.
"Our city's artists have outdone themselves again," said Rodgers. The City of Alpharetta's third public piano installation, 'Morgan', is a perfect masterpiece to live in our city's equestrian center."
"Morgan" follows "Flannery" in Cogburn Road park and "Oscar" in Rock Mill Park. Another piano will be unveiled in Webb Bridge Park in August.
Find and play the other public pianos in the metro area at the Chastain Park Playground, Woodruff Arts Center, Colony Square, Dunwoody Nature Center, Chamblee Rail Trail, Ashford Park in Brookhaven, East Cobb Park, Ponce City Market, Atlantic Station, the Egg Harbor Cafe in East Cobb, Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Sandy Springs and on the Grange Hall porch at Serenbe. Additional pianos are in various stages of planning and development.
A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charity founded in Georgia in 2016, Play Me Again Pianos places, maintains and promotes public pianos to strengthen communities, inspire joy and bring people together through shared encounters with public music and art. Each piano is uniquely painted by a variety of volunteer artists ranging from internationally acclaimed professionals to aspiring amateurs and students. They are currently working to place 88 pianos throughout Metropolitan Atlanta. To find a map of Play Me Again Pianos installations, donate, volunteer or find out more visit PlayMeAgainPianos.org.
Sandy Barth grew up in the Midwest with a deep love for horses and art, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Post graduation, she has also studied sculpture, drawing and painting at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association, The Studio at Long Grove, Spruill Art Center and others. Ms. Barth has exhibited at Art on the Green (Franklin, MI), The Scarab Club (Detroit) and several galleries in metro Atlanta. Her primary mediums are pastel, oil, acrylic and clay. A number of Sandy's works are now in private collections. Sandy Barth is also very active with ArtsAlpharetta.org.
Videos