Sing for Hope Celebrates 25 Years with 25 Pianos, Bringing Music to the Streets of New York

The public was allowed to tickle the ivories of twenty five dazzling pianos at the 25th annual celebration of Sing for Hope in downtown Manhattan, a musical celebration that has thrived in the dark days since 9/11.

Players of all levels and ages took to the keys and shared music together on 25 freshly-painted pianos featuring an array of colors, designs, and messages on May 18 at the festival held at Fosun Plaza on Liberty St.

The organization, founded by Camille Zamora and Monica Yunusded as a response to the tragic events on 9/11a short distance from the site of the festival, has since grown into the country’s largest annual public arts initiative. It is responsible for placing pianos in public spaces such as parks and transit hubs for everyone to play, before being placed permanently in schools, hospitals, and community spaces. The event brought together musicians, artists, performers, and the general public into the plaza to celebrate the new pianos, accompanied by a never-ending stream of keys being played.

Christopher Spinelli, an artist who painted the “Monarchs and Milkweed” piano over six weeks, said the pianos are a vibrant and appealing contrast to the concrete cityscape of New York, drawing players and audiences in.

“When you’re going down the street and you see a piano, that’s a fun interaction that you do, because it’s not something that you would expect to see,” Spinelli told Straus News. “Pianos are famously not outside, out in the elements, but it’s wonderful to see it, and I think that’s what stuns people a little bit. It’s good because it kind of shocks them out of there, and in New York City, which can be kind of a gray place, you have all these brightly colored pianos, so it’s definitely a focal point.”

Jeffrey Reeves, a pianist who played on different pianos throughout the event, said the pianos open up public spaces to appreciate visual and performing arts.

“This is beauty, it’s just that simple,” Reeves told Straus News. “You’re walking around, you’re seeing all these different people, the conversation never goes political, never goes racist, stays strictly in the beauty of whatever that person’s playing.”

Sharon Daley-Johnson, conductor for P.S. 180 student choir, said the captivating pianos provide youths new and exciting opportunities to perform in community spaces.

“Especially for kids, there’s not enough opportunities for them to perform,” Daley-Johnson said. “So this is a great venue that Sing for Hope does for anybody to come out, sing, and play piano, and because we have a pianist, we’re able to sing. This makes so much of a difference, but there needs to be more of these types of events and ways to expose our students to the arts.”

“It’s great to even just see the kids, like they saw the Lion King one and were like ‘Lion King!’ So they recognize the theatre and the arts and just the beautiful way to decorate,” Daley-Johnson added. “It’s just exquisite, some of these drawings and paintings and applications on the piano.”

Kenneth Voisin, a Sing for Hope ambassador and pianist, said the pianos bring together the musician community to share live music in public.

“We have a group of friends called Piano Chasers. Last year, we hunted down 15. This year’s gonna be 15, and we’ll all say, ‘Okay, we’re going to the one in the Bronx today or the one by the Queens County Farm,’” Voisin said. “We all meet there and we share the piano, and they bring a saxophone player or they bring a violinist, it’s just a great experience. I’m a musician since I was a boy, I’ve always loved music so this is Nirvana, paradise, Eden, Heaven, to be in a situation where I am, because as a kid, I would go crazy.”

Serena Halikias, a pianist who signed up for the event through Instagram, said she enjoyed playing in the finale of the ceremony, in which pianists played Bach’s Praeludium and Fuge in C major on all 25 pianos concurrently.

“It was very cool,” Halikias said. “I played in orchestra ensembles with other instruments, but I’ve never played in a piano ensemble like that, so it was very cool to experience that. That was something different for me.”

Laura Linney, an award-winning actress who was named the recipient of the 2026 Sing for Hope Art for All Award, praised the adorned pianos and Sing for Hope during her award speech, saying “This generous vital organization provides New Yorkers and beyond, with an infectious goodwill, comfort, joy, and a glorious inspiration through the access and the power of live music.”

The captivating painted pianos will now be transported across the city to 25 locations for the public to enjoy, collaborate, and spontaneously play during their three-week residency.