Play Me: The Piano On King St …

Stop and smell the roses: that’s my philosophy of life. But it wasn’t always the case. Living in Canada’s largest city and working in an industry that never sleeps (thanks to the 24hr media cycle), I rarely had the time to take in the incredible sights and sounds around me. But as I darted from place to place – head buried in my phone – I did make mental notes of things I found interesting and places I wanted to explore “later”. Well, that “later” never came and I felt my life flashing by without any of the experiences I wanted to squeeze into it. So, a few years ago, I began consciously making time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life (just like people make the time to eat better, exercise, learn something new etc.). Bam! With that decision came a reawakening: a childlike curiosity returned and beautiful moments have been experienced ever since. Moments like the time I watched complete strangers play a piano in the middle of King St during TIFF…

Even though there wasn’t a “play me” sign hovering over the decorated piano, passersby quickly grasped the concept and mustered up the courage to perform in public. Some focused incredibly hard on getting all the notes right, while others let the music flow right out of their fingertips with no regard for precision. Those were the people I admired most. To me, the beauty was not in playing a perfect piece: it was in trying, stumbling along the way and being brave enough to continue.

As I sat there for hours watching the performances, I started to think about how rare the experience actually was. Think about it: how often do you have thousands of people from around the globe (at least 70 countries represented during TIFF) walk the same street over the course of a few hours? I met pianists from Italy, Korea, Germany etc. all with one thing in common: a love for music. This realization made me feel incredibly warm and fuzzy inside. At a time when most of the news headlines send me into a downward spiral, an experience as simple as this helped restore my faith in humanity…

Unlike a concert hall where the audience rarely interacts, conversations among strangers flourished around me. I noticed a woman who looked particularly enamoured by the piano and sat beside her on a picnic bench. After watching several performances together, I asked her what she thought of the concept. Our conversation was enlightening: she was the original owner of the piano! Having purchased it over 20 years ago for her children (none of whom took up the instrument), she decided to donate it to TIFF so others could enjoy it. She told me that she was ecstatic to finally hear it being played…

Together, we heard so many different people stroke the keys of her beloved piano – from budding musicians to professional pianists. I really connected with the novices and those who just wanted to experiment with sound. I particularly enjoyed watching this musician interact with kids…

But, in my opinion, the best performances were the collaborations. In some way it was like watching a social experiment: people(sometimes complete strangers who didn’t speak the same language) sat beside each other on a piano bench and made music together. Beautiful, no?

The whole experience was quite special and something I’m glad I made time for. So, the next time you walk by something that piques your curiosity, try to stop and smell the roses. No more “later”, just now!

A huge thanks to Nick (who also happens to be the piano owner’s son) for sharing all the great photos and vids.