NBC News Feature

Earlier this spring on May 8th, NBC stopped by Providence to film a news segment about the piano! The feature is finally scheduled to air today, on the Nightly News with Lester Holt. I'm thrilled that this project is reaching such a broad audience - it's still hard to believe that what started out as a crazy idea – what happens when you put a piano outside? – is now a project nearly one-and-a-half years old that has captured the interest of people across the country.

It was a fascinating experience to learn what goes into making a news clip. The film crew and reporters drove and flew in from all over the country. Once they arrived, they got right to work, setting up multiple cameras, mics, and even lights. They filmed our group improvisation, several interviews with myself and various students, a piano comparison (the same song played on both the outdoor and an indoor piano), and Jesse even filmed a short clip for the NBC social media accounts. From set up to breakdown, the visit lasted over 4 hours. Back at the studio, their team condensed hours of footage into the feature's final form of a brief 90 seconds. It took some patience waiting to hear back about when the segment would finally be aired, but it was well worth the wait.

The segment is available to watch on NBC's website and on Youtube. Many thanks to Jesse, Jason, and the film & sound crew for producing such an awesome segment; to the student performers Xavier, Ruby, Amy, and Gabe; and to Maggie Spear for capturing some of the candid photos below.

Days in place: 447 (May 8); 503 (July 3)

Weather: overcast and humid, 63°F (May 8)

Xavier, Ruby, Amy, and I played the piano together. Afterwards, we realized this was our first group improvisation at the piano - something we would definitely do again! 

Some behind-the-scenes shots that didn't make the final cut!