In the heart of Golden Gate Park, amid the wildflowers and ferns, a magical transformation will occur for 10 days, as the lush San Francisco Botanical Garden becomes an enchanting alfresco concert hall, hosting one of the city’s most beloved and unique events.

From September 12-22, Flower Piano will bring music lovers and nature enthusiasts together for an unparalleled celebration of San Francisco’s rich talent and beauty. Patrons will have the opportunity to listen as the city’s pianists work their magic on 18 beautifully tuned grand pianos, scattered around the 55-acre Botanical Garden.

The story of this curious event, now in its ninth year, began in 2015 with the creative vision of Sunset Piano — a collaboration between two multidisciplinary artists, Half Moon Bay’s Mauro ffortissimo and LA native Dean Mermell. The two pianists crossed paths in 2008 by way of their mutual friend, the late Argentine sculptor Pepe Ozan. Dean and Mauro bonded over being ‘generalists’ — both were musicians, filmmakers, writers, and more, and shared a deep love for creating community through music.

Mauro presented Dean with an idea: what if they put some pianos on the Pacific Coast and invited people to play? After a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the project and the nascent film, they dragged 12 pianos (discarded by the Oakland School District) out to the coast of San Mateo County, setting them up on fields and bluffs for the public to discover, as well as curating expert performances from their peers.

“Nothing we did was strictly legitimate,” Dean laughs. “We didn’t have any permits. We guerrilla-ed the whole thing.”

The project lasted two weeks. Advertising their pianos’ whereabouts through their fundraiser and word of mouth, Dean and Mauro staged intimate, convivial performances and gatherings that showcased the best of what the Bay Area has to offer: stunning coastal vistas, a warm and welcoming community, and a creative, do-it-yourself ethos.

While working on "Twelve Pianos," Dean and Mauro’s budding publicity landed them an invite from the San Francisco Mayor’s Office to wheel some pianos to the Tenderloin. In 2015, they were sought by SF Rec and Park to see about a collaboration with the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, who were celebrating their 75th anniversary. The idea for Flower Piano was born.

“It’s an unusual kind of relationship. Historically, Mauro and I are these crazy artists, and we proposed this idea and we never expected them to say yes,” Dean says. “To our great surprise, they said ‘yeah, let’s try it.’”

The pair went from playing fog-tarnished ivories for a few dozen people and a handful of gray whales to serenading 68,000 attendees and 8,000+ plant species on world-class pianos. While broadening their scope for Flower Piano, Mauro and Dean made sure not to lose the organic quality at the heart of their collaboration. “At Flower Piano, what often happens is that Mauro and I will be walking around and we'll hear something, and go ‘Wow, that’s really good.’ We’ll walk over there and see some 10 year-old kid playing Rachmaninoff, or some older guy playing jazz real well, and we’ll ask them if they want to be on the program the following year.”

Flower Piano started out as an entirely acoustic venture focused on pianists, but has evolved to host bands and other instrumentalists. This year, the organizers wanted to restore the original feel: almost all the piano performances will be acoustic, and bands will perform in the Flower Piano Lounge – a dedicated space with a cutting-edge soundsystem, craft cocktails, and local eats, with a modest entry fee.

This year, Flower Piano will host a record 100 performances. Highlights include a four-instrument installation by composer and musician Kennedy Realness in the Redwood Grove, where listeners will be able to walk the trails and hear music interact in space. Another standout is French composer Camille Saint-Saens’s "Carnival of the Animals," paired with marionette performances by puppeteer Niki Ulehla at the Great Meadow on Saturday, September 21.

New this year is the Flower Piano Fashion Show: after seeing so many very well-dressed attendees over the years, the organizers decided to host a contest on the catwalk for the best Flower Piano-themed attire. On Fridays, the Flower Piano Lounge will host family-friendly and sensory-friendly daytime performances, featuring the SF Ballet and a puppet show.

→ Flower Piano, September 12-22
San Francisco Botanical Garden
gggp.org/flowerpiano