At long last, the outdoor piano in Belmar, NJ's Pyanoe Plaza is now officially Sancious-ized!
- Lisa Iannucci
- May 7
- 4 min read
May 7, 2025
Witnessed by a crowd that nearly filled Pyanoe Plaza, the Borough of Belmar hosted a dedication ceremony last Saturday for the new all-weather piano installed there. The piano, which was placed in the plaza last November, was the result of hard work by the Belmar Arts Council to pay tribute to perhaps its most famous former residents, teacher Stelma Sancious and her son David. The fully interactive Cadenza outdoor piano is only the second public installation of its kind in the U.S., and can withstand heat, UV rays, and moisture.
The event was a fitting tribute not only to one of the E Street Band’s founding members, but to his mother, a woman who was a true pillar of the Belmar community. As laughing gulls swooped and glided overhead, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sancious was introduced by his elder brother Edward, who expressed profound gratitude to the town that had, he said, shown him that “you can come home again and have it be a joyful experience.” He told the story of how, when the family first moved there from nearby Asbury Park, they were surprised to see that the previous owner of their house on E Street had left behind a piano. They were even more surprised when their mother sat down at the piano and proceeded to play a classical piece from memory. Neither Edward, David, or elder brother Jimmie had known that Stelma had been trained as a classical pianist. They were just as surprised when David showed his innate musical genius by sitting down at the piano and not only banging out melodies he had heard in TV commercials, but riffing on them. All of the brothers played instruments in the Belmar Elementary School Band, but “only David had the gift,” he said.
After this introduction, David, the youngest of the three, took the mic to express his gratitude to the community, and said he was pleasantly surprised by the large turnout for the event. He said that he’d received multiple email messages from former students whose lives had been touched by Stelma, who was not just their mom, but was also a mentor, teacher and guidance counselor at Belmar Elementary, where she stressed inclusion of the arts as part of a well-rounded education. E Street fans owe Stelma their thanks not only for teaching David to play the piano, but for permitting the fledgling band to rehearse at the house. “There are not enough words,” he said of his mother, “to describe how kind, smart and generous” she was to all who knew her; the ever humble and gracious Sancious downplayed his own massive role in the formation of the legendary E Street Band, and appeared overjoyed that the town had given his mother this public recognition.
After wielding the scissors in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the piano, Sancious moved on to the musical portion of the program. Sitting at the piano, he introduced the first piece, “Sleight of Hand” (off his 1975 debut LP with his band Tone, Forest of Feelings) by explaining how he had gotten a record deal during the E Street Band’s weeklong residency earlier that year at the now-defunct Bottom Line in Manhattan. As he concluded, raindrops began to pelt down, interrupting the proceedings, drenching everyone, and delaying the remainder of the program for about half an hour as attendees ran for cover to wait out the downpour. Unfortunately, a significant number of folks did not return for the remainder of the program, during which Sancious was joined for a couple more numbers by fellow E Streeter Ernest “Boom” Carter on drums and saxophonist Tommy LaBella. But like the musical legacy of Stelma Sancious and her son David, the piano is now a lasting gift not only to the Borough of Belmar, but to the Jersey Shore music scene to which they so greatly contributed.
---------------
Below you can watch posted Facebook videos of Saturday's musical performances, courtesy of Eileen Chapman, Director of The Bruce Springsteen Archives & center for American Music at Monmouth University:
The Cadenza piano in Pyanoe Plaza is available to any and all, and is “on” until 10 p.m. each evening. Per a borough official, the 10 p.m. cutoff has been implemented in order to keep the noise level down in the area after hours.
David Sancious is currently wrapping up his special Open Secret Tour with percussionist Will Calhoun of Living Colour fame. They'll be performing tonight at New York City's The Cutting Room, followed by upcoming dates in Natick, MA; Brattleboro, VT; and Hennicker, NH.
