New Public Piano Coming To Plaza Fiesta!

Play Me Again Pianos, a nonprofit aspiring to make metro Atlanta more musical through 88 public piano installations, will cut the ribbon on its newest donated piano Sunday, Nov. 17, at 12:00 p.m. at the Plaza Fiesta indoor shopping mall. The event is free and open to the public and everyone is encouraged to play the piano, named "Iris," after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"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.

The eventual 88 pianos represent the 88 piano keys. Iris, installation number 23, joins Irving (on the Chamblee Rail Trail) as the second neighborhood piano in Chamblee, with Aragon (in Ashford Park, Brookhaven) close by.

Iris was designed and painted by eight grade art students from the Westminster. "Iris underwent several iterations before finally being realized in her final state," said Kristen Orsini, Middle School French and Spanish teacher and Director of Summer School. "The students interviewed several vendors at Plaza Fiesta so that the spirit of Iris would fit in with the culture of the space." The name Iris comes from the Spanish phrase for rainbow, "arco iris" (arco meaning arch), reflected in the piano design.

The close relationship between Plaza Fiesta and Westminster dates back more than 15 years when juniors in the Westminster Spanish V Service Learning course started offering free English classes to passers-by in the food court. Since then, management and vendors at Plaza Fiesta have welcomed Westminster students in their stores, halls, and stages for many partnerships and events. The list of joint initiatives includes Westminster and Cross Keys HS students partnering with Mexican muralist Jorge Arcos to design and paint the mural near the mall entrance, Westminster a capella students singing the national anthem and presenting the colors at Mexico's Fiestas Patrias, Middle Schoolers collaborating in the Fiesta de Libros book festival, and current Spanish students working directly with vendors across Plaza Fiesta to teach English, prepare for citizenship tests, and practice some Spanish.

Every Play Me Again Pianos installation is a collaboration, and with the increasing rarity of home pianos, public access to them enriches the entire community. For more information about volunteer opportunities and the impact of Play Me Again Pianos, visit www.PlayMeAgainPianos.org.

Play Me Again Pianos

A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit 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 students. The organization is 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 www.PlayMeAgainPianos.org.

Westminster

Wesminster is a Christian, independent day school, which seeks to serve students who are bright, motivated, curious, and nurtured by challenge in an environment that develops leaders of conscience who will be a positive force in the World. The School was founded in 1951 guided by a mission to prepare students for college and for life. With a current enrollment of 1,870 students in grades pre-first through twelfth, Westminster fulfills its mission through a dynamic curriculum that engages children across the key dimension of their growth-academic, physical, and spiritual. For more information, visit www.Westminster.net.

Plaza Fiesta

Plaza Fiesta is in the heart of one of metro Atlanta's most diverse communities. Located at the intersection of Clairmont Road and Buford Highway, where the cities of Chamblee and Brookhaven meet, our 350,000 square-foot retail center draws 4.4 million visitors a year from all over the Southeast. A hub of activity seven days a week, Plaza Fiesta is truly a gathering place for the community. For more information, visit www.PlazaFiesta.net.