Author: Aaron Friedman
Congratulations to all who took part in last week’s Make Music Day!
An astounding 4,791 music-making events took place in the U.S. on June 21 – 25% more than in 2022 – along with performances by thousands more musicians in 120 countries around the world who celebrated the day.
Check out 206 press clips about Make Music Day 2023, from media outlets in 71 U.S. cities, to learn about events you may have missed!
And congratulations to the winners of this year’s #MySongIsYourSong prize drawing, Damian Morris from Sydney Australia, and Ryan Oyer from Chattanooga, TN. Damian and Ryan will each receive a concert ukulele from Flight, a Scarlett 4i4 audio interface, and a Launchkey 37. Their performances, and others, are posted on the #MySongIsYourSong page.
- “What’s new about this year’s Make Music Madison?,” by Hannah Ritvo, The Isthmus, June 19, 2023
- “CT towns to host Make Music Day celebrations on June 21,” by Abby Weiss, CT Insider, May 31, 2023
- “Hawaiʻi prepares to celebrate Make Music Day,” by Russell Subiono, Hawaii Public Radio, June 14, 2023
- “Make Music Day invites Huntsville musicians to show their skills,” by Alex Pfenenger, Alabama Public Radio, June 20, 2023
- “Make Music New York to Present Unique Open Performance of Mozart’s ‘Requiem’,” by David Salazar, Opera Wire, June 19, 2023
- “Make Music Day comes back to Salem in full-force on June 21,” by Kristian Foden-Vencil, Oregon Public Broadcasting, June 16, 2023
- “Music Mania: International Make Music Day brings extra strums and drums to Santa Fe,” by Alex De Vore and Noah Hale, Santa Fe Reporter, June 14, 2023
- “Randolph Readies for Global Celebration of Music,” The Herald, June 8, 2023
- “Laredo musicians invited to perform as part of Make Music Day,” by Louis San Miguel, Laredo Morning Times, June 13, 2023
- “Want to learn guitar or join a kazoo parade? York’s Make Music Day will make that possible,” by Tina Locurto, York Dispatch, June 12, 2023
In Ukraine, Make Music Day celebrates its 10th anniversary in Lviv, where the event continues to flourish despite Russia’s invasion of the country.
Sixty-seven musical groups, ranging from electronic music to the Ukrainian hurdy-gurdy, are on the schedule at 44 locations in the city, all with free performances and collection boxes for the Musicians Defend Ukraine foundation.
The Vic Firth Company, setting the standard for percussion since its inception in 1963, is stepping up to support two Make Music Day programs this year.
All percussionists who attend Flowerpot Music will receive Balter mallets, a key element to get that clean flowerpot sound. And even more generously, Vic Firth will provide drumsticks for this year’s 28 Mass Appeal Bucket Drumming sessions. These events will range from structured classes to free-flowing bucket drumming circles, according to the concept of each local organizer. To take part, all you need is a beat in your heart… and a pair of sticks.
Thank you, Vic Firth!
Music on June 21 can come from anyone, anywhere, and just about anything.
As if to prove the point, celebrated composer Elliot Cole and percussionist Peter Ferry are again organizing a series of music especially for Make Music Day, featuring an unlikely but beautiful percussion instrument – the flowerpot!
This year, sixteen groups around the U.S. will come out to parks, fields, and plazas to perform Flowerpot Music, a set of easy-to-learn musical games. Anyone can join the events and make a great sound on a flowerpot – no experience required.
Find Flowerpot Music near you!
Two new programs give you a chance to jam with other musicians on June 21, all joining Make Music Day from around the world!
Lessonface has organized 16 free live online jam sessions on June 21, using Zoom’s new Live Performance Audio feature. Instructors from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Israel, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. will lead jams for beatboxers, bluegrass players, jazz and funk musicians, rock guitarists, Native American flutists, vocalists, and more! Click here to RSVP.
Meanwhile, participants from all over the world are invited to join Trevor New’s Cohere Touch, developed with the American Composers Orchestra. As performers play this large-scale, remote composition over Zoom, other participants can improvise with hand and body movements that impact the music and create on-screen animations.
On June 21, Trevor will be on Zoom all day, with a main performance at 2:00pm (EDT). RSVP to play, listen to the performance, or stop in throughout the day to explore the work. Click here to RSVP.
After five years of hibernation, Make Music Detroit is back!
Starting as a volunteer-led initiative in 2016 and 2017, Make Music Detroit is being relaunched by a consortium of local partners, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), Downtown Detroit Partnership, and Detroit Parks Coalition.
This year’s program includes the DSO’s “superNATURAL” acoustic and electronic music at the Sosnick Courtyard, bands in Cadillac Square before a screening of Into the Woods, a full-day lineup of DJs and hip-hop at Chandler Park, a showcase by the Detroit Suzuki Academy of Music, and a synthesizer petting zoo hosted by Wayne State University.
None of this would be possible without sponsorship from Harman, known for its pro audio brands and connected car technology. Harman’s employees have celebrated Make Music Day since 2015 at their North American Automotive Headquarters in Novi, just outside Detroit, while other offices have hosted Make Music Day talent shows, special concerts, and Street Studios (like this year’s Beatbox House performance at the JBL Soho store in NYC).
Thanks to Harman for the crucial support!
Since 2011, Make Music Chicago has pioneered the “Sousapalooza” – an invitation for hundreds of brass, wind, and percussion players to come together on Make Music Day and sightread the music of The March King, John Philip Sousa.
Sousapalooza returns this year to 10 cities, including three Marshall Music locations in Michigan, and other band hotspots from New York to Texas.
Find one near you, download the music, and join the band!
This week we feature Fairfield, Connecticut, an exceptional Make Music chapter, and one of fourteen supported by the Connecticut Office of the Arts.
For Fairfield’s 6th annual celebration, this community of 60,000 has scheduled more than 70 performances all over town: at Jennings Beach, beside the bank of the Mill River, from the deck of the beautiful yawl PEARL (pictured above) in Southport Harbor, on the Pequot Library steps, at Greenfield Hill Commons, and multiple spots downtown.
Come listen to an electric harp, a woodwind quintet, traditional Irish music, participate in a drum circle, and check out the latest pop, folk, rock and funk groups!