Thanks to a collaboration between community partners, there's a new, free way to make music in Columbia.

Members of Susquehanna River Creative Conspiracy (SRCC) have teamed up with Music for Everyone to bring a public piano to Coffee and Cream, 101 N. Front St., Columbia.

The partnership began after SRCC founder and president Anthony "TJ" Carrozza struck up a conversation with Music for Everyone founder John Gerdy. Both nonprofits share a common vision: using the arts to transform lives and strengthen communities.

One of Music for Everyone's initiatives is Keys for the City, a program that places free-for-community-use pianos - decorated with unique artwork - in public spaces throughout downtown Lancaster.

Carrozza thought Columbia could benefit from a piano, so he met with Music for Everyone executives, who agreed. He just needed a spot to place the piano and an artist to paint it.

"I ride my bike across here every day," Carrozza said, gesturing to the road outside Coffee and Cream. "I live in Marietta, and our venue is on Lancaster Avenue, so I pass this all the time, and as soon as Music for Everyone asked me to find a spot, it just popped into my head."

The cafe's owner agreed, offering to host the piano on the covered porch and possibly move it indoors for year-round music.

Carrozza knew about Music for Everyone's Keys for the City program, but through his conversations with the organization, he realized the nonprofit does much more for the community.

"Keys for the City is one of our most forward-facing initiatives, but we give out musical instruments to all 16 school districts in the county," shared Deb Rohrer, Music for Everyone's executive director. "We've given nearly $120,000 worth of instruments to the Columbia School District."

As she talked with Carrozza, she realized bringing a piano to Columbia was the perfect way to spotlight the work Music for Everyone does.

She noted that at any time the organization might have upwards of 20 donated pianos waiting in storage for a location in the community.

She tasked Carrozza with not only finding the location for the piano, but also securing an artist to paint it. He didn't have to look far, finding the perfect person in Diane Bell, one of the founders of SRCC and the art director of the organization.

She had never painted a piano before, but she was up to the challenge.

She wanted to focus on mandalas, a design that she says brings her comfort in the repetitive motion of painting a series of dots, and she started out with a much larger vision for her piece, but she didn't like the look.

"This was not planned out," she said, pointing to the piano, now covered in a colorful design. "I had very little idea when I put the brush to the piano how it was going to turn out. It just sort of came together as it is."

She incorporated dots all over the instrument and created a design that mimics jewelry dripping down over the piano, visible even when the lid is closed. She also painted a design around the edge that is a digital representation of music, showing the sound levels on a mixer.

She worked on the piano day and night, noting, "I stopped counting the time after I put 100 hours in."

It was a labor of love for Bell, and she's happy with the results. So are Rohrer and Carrozza, and the project has been met with positive response from the community. Carrozza is already planning to bring another Music for Everyone piano to Columbia Crossing River Trails Center.

Soon after the piano was installed at Coffee and Cream earlier this fall, a group gathered for an open mic night.

"It was just packed with musicians and local community members," Carrozza recalled. "Everyone just came together and had fun."

That's the goal of every piano Music for Everyone places, Rohrer said.

"Music is a universal language," she stated. "People are so polarized sometimes, but music brings us all together. It's all about building community."

For more information on Music for Everyone, visit https://musicforeveryone.org. For more information on SRCC, visit http://srccpaart.org/#/events.