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Megan Diana McGeorge believes it takes more than talent to be a great pianist.
“You could be technically brilliant, but over the years, the kinds of players that I see make people stop and listen, they could be playing the simplest piece of music,” she says, “but when they’re playing it with feeling, other people can feel that.”
McGeorge has used pianos to transform Portland into an arena of feeling. As the founder and creative director of the nonprofit Piano. Push. Play., she has brought pianos to parks and other community spaces, filling them with strains of “Für Elise,” “Heart and Soul,” and the Amélie score.
This summer, Piano. Push. Play.’s pianos will be everywhere from Multnomah Village to the Portland Mercado (in the fall and winter, the pianos are placed in schools). Per the program’s musically democratic ethos, anyone is welcome to play.
“It’s giving people the opportunity to be respectful, showing them, ‘Look, we’re not locking this up. We’re not locking the bench to the piano. We’re going to believe in you, Portland public people—that you’re going see this thing and respect it and enjoy it and even probably maybe play it, even if you don’t know how.’”