BELMAR — In a true test of its all-weather capabilities, the new concrete piano in Pyanoe Plaza was featured in a preview concert last week. A modest crowd braved the stormy weather last Tuesday afternoon to enjoy a small set from the trio of local musicians: Pat Roddy on guitar and vocals, with John Scariappa on piano and Tommy LaBella on conga, soprano saxophone and tenor saxophone.
The Piano 4 Pyanoe Plaza project to bring the new weatherproof concrete piano to the borough’s Pyanoe Plaza was organized by the Belmar Arts Center (BAC) and honors keyboardist David Sancious, who grew up in Belmar and graduated from Belmar Elementary School before later becoming an original member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band in the early 1970s.
The project also honors David’s mother, Stelma Sancious, as Springsteen and his bandmates rehearsed at Stelma’s house, and the band was named after the street on which the Sancious family lived and hosted band practice.
The project began as a way for the BAC to commemorate Belmar’s 150th anniversary in 2022 and was the idea of Kevin Maypother, a classmate of Sancious. After the grassroots fundraising efforts were able to raise over $50,000, the weatherproof concrete piano, made by Cadenza Pianos in Israel, had originally been delivered damaged to the plaza at the end of May, however it was swapped to its current functioning version on Aug. 1.
Mayor Gerald Buccafusco thanked the gathered audience for fighting through the weather to be with them for the preview debut. “I think this is a great opportunity for the borough and I have to thank the (BAC) for all the effort that they did in putting this together.”
“This is just the kind of preview of what’s to come,” the mayor said. “One of the things I like about this is (that) it really brings home the need for music education…It’s so important for children to have the opportunity to learn how to play an instrument and who knows, someone might sit at this piano during the day and start banging away and say to themselves, ‘Y’know, I’d like to become a musician someday, or just do it for fun,’ so I think this is a great benefit (to our community).”
Despite a delayed start due to the day’s rainy conditions, the sun began to shine through at the start of the music and the trio treated the gathered audience to several Sancious hits and Springsteen favorites in a half-hour set highlighting the capabilities of the piano.
The official dedication ceremony, celebrating the legacy of Sancious and his mother Stelma, is tentatively scheduled for the spring season on Saturday, May 3rd.
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