The sounds of lively music played by Korin Hancherlian-Amos is what made Patricia Fitzsimmons, 62, stop to park her car in Depot Town on Sept. 25. She listened in rapt silence as Amos finished her song on a white Steinway piano with “Play Me” hand-painted on the front. When the song was over, both women, complete strangers to each other, entered Nelson Amos Studio, talking like old friends.
Amos was playing on one of the eight Steinway pianos scattered on the sidewalks of Depot Town and downtown Ypsilanti for Piano ‘Round Town, an event she created to get people off their couches and to have fun playing music. The event, which started on Sept. 24, will go on until Oct. 11, with pianos available for everyone to play during business hours. This is the first time the something like this has happened in Ypsilanti.
“It’s nice to be driving in the great USA and here some of the roots and I had to turn around and find a parking space,” Fitzsimmons said. A farmer, she was driving to Dearborn from Delta, OH to visit an art store. She wanted to visit local farmers markets along the way. “I’m appreciative of seeing the authentic music, the art, in this day and age when we have become a throw-away society.”
Amos, whose husband, Nelson Amos, is music teacher at Eastern Michigan University, decided to create this event after she read about it in the New York Times. Along with playing piano since she was five, she also gives piano lessons. She has planned smaller events around the street piano such as the Opera on Tap, which will be held on Oct. 11 from 6-7 p.m. where she will play piano outside Clover Computers, accompanied by opera singers. On Sept. 25, she played piano accompanied by 14-year-old ballet dancer, Nicasia Marie.
The event, originally created by Luke Jerram called Play me, I’m Yours, in March 2008, was first held in London, England. Since then, the travelling installation has toured around the world in cities like New York City, Sao Paolo, and Barcelona. Jerram allowed Amos to use his idea as long as her event had a different name.
“When I read about this, it made me want to fly to London, and sit on every one of those 30 pianos and play,” Amos said. “But you can’t fly to London; it’s not a cheap place to go. As a pianist, we cannot take our instruments with us. When we see a piano, it’s like a magnet. It draws us and we want to sit down and play something. A lot of people don’t have a piano. It gives them an outlet.”
For Andy Lawson, who has lived in Ypsilanti since 1963, was on his way to buy flowers when he decided to play music he made up in front of the pianos in Clover Computers and Nelson Amos Studio.
“It says ‘Play Me’. How could you say no?” Lawson said.
He thinks any event to benefit Ypsilanti is good.
“They are making some good efforts compared to 10-15 years ago when Ypsi was at its lowest. Lack of businesses; Depot Town was dead-there were biker bars and weeds. I wish downtown [Ypsilanti] would come more into its own. It’s not just a nice restaurant is going to save downtown. I think they need a grocery store or a movie theater.”
Amos hopes to host this event again. “Success will be seeing people coming out and motivated to play. We are getting a lot of press coverage.”
Hosting the event again depends on if the store owners didn’t like it.
“I think this is awesome,” Dawn Hitsman said. “Every 30 minutes, someone sits downs and plays. I do know people like it because most people that walk by, they stop, they smile, and their kids will play on it for a few minutes. Who’s going to be upset if a kid’s smiling and laughing?”
Hitsman, manager of Clover Computers, enjoys it. Other than the piano being heavier than she expected, and shutting the door to deal with a customer, it’s not an inconvenience and she enjoys the event. She has lived in Depot Town since June when she came from Oakland County to be with her boyfriend.
“This had a lot of success in New York. This isn’t New York, but it fits well in here. This is a unique town. Every Thursday, the main road gets closed for a car show. What other town does that?”
Hitsman thinks it would be cool if they scheduled a jazz pianist at the event. Although Pianos ‘Round Town is not for profit or for charity, Hitsman would like to see them implement the idea in more community programs like charity events or fundraiser.
This event has its own Facebook page, which can be found by typing: Pianos ‘Round Town.
