Port Coquitlam residents may have heard more than just the rush of traffic on Shaughnessy Street near City Hall this summer because a white piano has been placed in the city square and more recently inside the Port Coquitlam Rec Centre.

The public piano was donated by Pianos on the Street, which is an outdoor community music program organized by Pacey’s Pianos and the Piano Teachers Federation.

pianos-in-public-backThe program was founded in 2009 in Vancouver where the first piano was placed and since then 24 other pianos have been places in influential locations such as Science World, the Queen Elizabeth Plaza, Surrey Central Station, Lonsdale Quay, and Rocky Point Park. Other cities with public pianos are Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, Burnaby and Mission.

The mission for this program is to give the public an opportunity to experience the power of music in a colorful atmosphere in various community locations. Every piano is designed and hand-painted to reflect the culture and uniqueness of the neighborhood each piano is installed in. Our Port Coquitlam piano is white and covered in bright tulip flowers similar to the ones found in our local parks.