Meet Megan Diana McGeorge | Founder and Director of Piano. Push. Play.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan Diana McGeorge and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan Diana, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I learned to never let one persons no – get me discouraged – or stop me from finding someone else who would say yes – there plenty of dream locations and artists I wanted to work with in the beginning that either couldn’t work with me at the time – or weren’t willing to take a chance on something they hadn’t tried before -I didn’t let that stop me from finding a great alternative but to also not let it stop me from gently asking again the next summer or the next – eventually everyone saw what I building and said YES –

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I’m not making music myself -as a singer, french horn player, pianists, and songmaker – I’m helping other make it thur my community installation – Piano. Push. Play. – where i’ve been placing 10 public pianos around Portland for the last decade. It was not easy – it took a good 5 years of working in completely other spheres while putting this on every summer – before it became my full time work. But the many lessons as a human, musician and entrepreneur have been full and many – I’ve learned what it takes to run a successful non-profit- I’ve learned that it does matter what you’re playing, but how much intention and emotion you are playing it with is what makes strangers on the street stop and listen (not the crazy hard technical stuff) I’ve learned that there are so many good humans out there that love to collaborate, celebrate art and community, bring access to this instrument to EVERYONE and out in nature, and that almost everyone has some sort of connection, memory, or link to the piano.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well what’s more important than music?! ha food! and as someone who doesn’t eat animals Portland has incredible veiggie spots to try like The Sudra, Blossoming Lotus, Canteen, Guerro, Mama Dut and sooo many more!

I love stationary + objects + cards, and my favorite place for that is Paper Epiphanies- I love to follow them and enjoy the hilarious musings of the owner- and I also love Higher Self for fun gifts, cute stickers, pins and all around positive reminders for myself and others.

On a Sunday I love to go estate saling – this is also the day when whatever is left is half off – so DEALS! Oregon has an amazing website called www.estatesale-finder.com and it will show you all the estate sales going on but also PICTURES of what is there- I have found incredible vintage, art, home goods, practical items i need for pennies and over all it’s a fascinating look into someones life –

I would definitely have some nice drinks on the top of the Hoxton or on the rooftop garden of KEX Hotel –

I would try catch a show at Mississippi Studios, Doug Fir, or Rontom’s (every Sunday they have a free show)

I would take a day trip out to Sauvie Island and visit Topaz Farms and do some berry picking – they also just started having shows out on the farm under an incredible oak tree – We also have a piano out on the farm every summer

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There is a book called – An Amateur at the Keyboard – by music critic – Peter Yates – and it’s from the 1960’s and it came to me at the library randomly in the first year I was starting Piano. Push. Play. and it explains that amateur is not a beginning as most people think – it means a lover of your art – And it goes thru the many of the trials and tribulations of being a musician – but so many things in this book aligned with the things I had felt growing up, loving music, studying it, playing it – but at the same time realizing that I was never going to be a concert pianists or an orchestra player – which would have been a dream – but that kind of focus was never my vibe.. The book talks about how sad it is that thousands of music students get to music school and realize they are never going to make it to Carnegie Hall – and then after that – they just – simply – stop- playing- all- together 🙁 Instead of realizing the incredible breadth of things and plays and ways they could share their love of music, of piano, with their friends, communities, they could create their own concerts and so on – the lessons in this book are many and deep and I feel like it was incredibly!! ahead of its time.

Website: http://www.pianopushplay.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pianopushplay/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pianopushplay/

Image Credits
All photos are credited to Benji Vuong The that I am in was taken by Henry Cromett