Davis Square's Street Piano Brings Music to Neighborhood

You may have heard of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" Street Pianos of Boston Festival, which opened on Sept. 27 and continues until Oct. 14.

The exhibit features 75 pianos that are set up in the streets of Boston, Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline. Each piano is decorated by an artist, and each piano is stationed in a public location, where anyone is welcome to sit down and play. 

Ten Somerville artists have decorated pianos as part of the festival—find their names below—though Somerville has only one piano stationed in the city. It's in Davis Square, and it was donated and decorated by Frances McCormick. There are pianos in Porter and Inman squares, too, but they're technically in Cambridge.

On Monday afternoon Steve Sarro, 31, who recently moved to Somerville from Boston, was playing the Davis Square piano. We captured some video of his performance, and we asked him what he thought of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" exhibit. You can watch the video above.

Sarro, who attended the Berklee College of Music, plays regularly at ImprovBoston in Central Square, in case you're interested in hearing more of his work.

To see a map of piano locations and learn more about the festival, visit streetpianos.com/boston2013/.

Here's a list of Somerville artists who have decorated pianos. You can use this map to find out where their pianos are located.

• Lou Lim: Has dedicating his piano to Grant Brown, a 6-year-old Somerville boy who, in North Carolina, died in a swimming accident earlier in the summer summer.
• Michael Crockett: Piano includes a vibrant display of colors.
• Aparna (Pampi) Das: Piano tells the story of ragtime and jazz.
• Pauline Lim: Bright pink piano includes Lim's unique iconography.
• Elise Ramsay: Piano depicts fantastical creatures from a graphic novel.
• Meghann Brideau: Treating piano as a huge aquarium tank.
• Yani Batteau: Piano depicts birds.
• Lyn Cardinal: Piano is inspired by player-piano rolls and vintage newspapers.
• Ben Kauffman: Explores the interior of the piano, comparing its mechanical inside to its sedate exterior.
• Arte Heeren: The piano explores human journeys though the imagery of hands.