Alastair Kierulf was having trouble describing what was successful about Make Me Sing last summer.
His project, which placed pianos in downtown Victoria for anyone to play, wasn’t something that had quantitative outputs.
But as he searched for words while speaking with one particularly gifted passerby who took a seat at the keys (who turned out to be local jazz musician Louise Rose) he got an answer.
“She turned to me and said, ‘Look at you: You’re beaming from ear to ear. That’s what success is,’ ” said Kierulf, who graduated last month from Reynolds Secondary School.
Based on that success and plenty of other positive feedback from community members, the 17-year-old has decided to bring Make Me Sing back again this summer.
The pianos will be placed at the same locations as last year: One in the CRD Square at Fisgard and Government and the other on the upper level of the Inner Harbour at Government and Belleville. One piano is on loan from his church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, and the other from a church member.
Members of the public are welcome to take a seat and tickle the ivories for nine days, starting today and ending July 14, between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
Kierulf copied the idea from a similar project he saw during a trip to London. Victoria was one of several places to pick it up last year; in Toronto, there were 42 pianos scattered around the city.
This year, it spread even further, including a parallel program in Vancouver called Keys to the Streets.
Kierulf said there were a few especially rewarding moments about the project.
“The one in CRD Square is a place frequented by the homeless community and a few people came over and played,” he said.
The teen would chat with players afterward.
“Some people would say, ‘I haven’t touched a piano in three years, it feels so good to get that feeling back,’ ” Kierulf said.
With plans to study chemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., this fall, this may be the final year that the ditties and concertos carry through the downtown streets. But Kierulf is doing his best to make it sustainable.
“I’ve got some helpers this year from my school,” he said. “I’m kind of training them so hopefully they can keep it going next year, too.”
