Outdoor public piano returns to Newburyport, supporting mental health, our pandemic recovery, and a young boy named Charli

Mateo McDermott, Newburyport resident and rising senior at Virginia Tech, is responsible for introducing an outdoor public piano during the summer of 2021, that can be found next to the Tuscan Sea Grill and Bar in downtown Newburyport. His aim in beginning this project was three-fold: raise awareness for mental health, raise spirits, and raise money to help a 10-year-old boy named Charli.

As a biomedical engineering student, McDermott is interested in fixing. He’s president of the e-NABLE chapter at Virginia Tech, where students there develop and manufacture affordable 3D-printed prosthetics for Charli, a young boy in need of prosthetics for daily use and sports. The club at Virginia Tech is just one beneficiary of donations received either at the piano (where a cash box is located) or via Venmo.

McDermott picked up piano during the pandemic, as he found more solitary ways to care for his mental health. “Mental health is definitely related to piano and music in general,” he said. McDermott wants to raise awareness for mental health with the public piano, too, directing a portion of the donations to the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH).

“Research supports our own lived experiences that music can help maintain mental health, and music therapy has been used to help treat depression, trauma, and other mental health conditions,” said MAMH President and CEO Danna Mauch. “As we continue the recovery from the social isolation, loneliness, and anxiety of the pandemic, finding strategies in our everyday lives to support, maintain, and improve our mental health is so important. Music is one of those strategies, and MAMH is excited to be part of this project!”

This is the second summer the piano, painted with scenes familiar to a beach community, made its way to downtown Newburyport.

Donations received at the piano (via the cash box) or through the mobile payment app Venmo (@newburyportpublicpiano) are split evenly between Virginia Tech’s e-NABLE Club, MAMH, and costs associated with maintenance of the piano.