Make Music
Denver

About

Make Music Day Denver

Make Music Denver is a festival designed to showcase local musical talent and inspire others to play music. Performers of all ages, races, levels, and styles of music are welcome. This year, we will be hosting a free festival across venues across the Denver area! See the latest in event details right here

About Make Music Day

Originally started in France in 1982,  Make Music Day is a celebration of music around the world, now held on the same day in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public.

Mission

Connect all Denver community members, regardless of age, race, musical experience, or ability, to make and enjoy music together every June 21, while also encouraging further participation in music-making and community building all year round.

Vision

A city where all community members are enabled to make music and feel connected and supported in their engagement to each other through the arts.

Make Music Denver is a community organization sponsored by Confluence Ministries & Confluence Music.

Confluence Ministries exists to bring positive change through meaningful connections.

We are a catalyst for collaboration in our community, our city, and our world. We thrive on uniting diverse people and communities for positive impact. Confluence Music spreads the joy of community that can be found through celebrating people and the arts.

Genuine connection and collaboration with different people holding different views is what creates our unique heartbeat. We empower people to impact their communities in practical ways through our various “streams of influence” – otherwise known as our programs, classes, and meetings, as well as our collaborative outreaches and events, like Make Music Day, that span across our city, country and world.

Participate

We are so excited that Make Music Day Denver is coming June 21st, 2022!  There are many ways to participate this year:

Denver’s Downtown Festival

Our stage is located in the heart of Downtown Denver will be running all day with performances, lessons, community participation, giveaways, and more! The celebration starts at noon downtown at 16th St. & Welton St.

 

Volunteer

If you would like to volunteer with us at Make Music Denver, please fill out the form on this page!

 

Community Stage – 16th Street Mall & Welton St.

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Jonnie Henderson

1:00 – 2:00 PM | Drum Circle (Steel Drums and Drums from the World) NAMM

2:00 – 3:00 PM | Confluence Music

3:00 – 4:00 PM | Harmonica Demo and Giveaway

4:00 – 5:00 PM | Biff Gore: “The Ambassador of Soul”

5:00 – 6:00 PM | Blues Behind Bars

6:00 – 7:30 PM | Soul Food Band

 

Other Performances

Bus Stop Ministries | Alex & Jonathan

Open Door Ministry | Sheronda Williams

Catholic Charities Smith Road Women’s Shelter | Grace Stailey

Lawrence Street Shelter | Jay Krebs

Marisol Home | Carly McMullen

Windsor Gardens | Styles B. Jazz Quartet

Lambuth Family Center | Joslin Skorka

The Crossing | Jam Bands

Joshua Station | Kevin Phillips & Friends

San Marino Retirement Community | Yvette Medina Music

Collier Hospice | Brad Richardson and Mercy Music

The Gardens at St. Elizabeth | Colorado Community Church

 

National& International Make Music Day Events:

Music Lesson Marathon

Make Music Day is the perfect opportunity to shake the dust off your instrument and start playing again, or to pick up an instrument for the first time.

Need a hand? This June 21, national brands and partners will be curating day-long marathons of live, free, online group lessons taught by dozens of master musicians on a wide array of instruments. Jump around to sample different instruments, or binge on your favorite! There are offerings for all ages, and all skill levels – from beginning to advanced.

Contact us at info@confluenceministries.org for local offerings, or join one the national links below!

Interactive Children’s Music
presented by Nuvo and Slippery Rock University

Join Nuvo Instrumental and Slippery Rock University for six hours of interactive children’s music! Activities will alternate between general music experiences and an introduction to NUVO instruments. You can join in at any time and all ages are welcome.

 

Music Production
presented by Dance Music Initiative

Dance Music Initiative (DMI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to collectively inspire creativity through dance music culture. We are a collective of dance music enthusiasts who pool their resources and knowledge to support others in their musically creative endeavors. DMI inspires others through instruction, mentoring, and sharing.

 

Ukulele
presented by Flight

Flight Ukulele are putting on 12 hours of ukulele lessons and workshops for players of all skill levels. The workshops will be delivered by our diverse range of talented Flight Uke Crew artists and teachers. Check us out at @flightukulele and on YouTube at Flight Ukulele.

Piano
presented by Music Teacher National Association

Join Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) for a series of virtual piano lessons on Make Music Day via Zoom! Teachers from across the country will present a variety of lesson topics for beginner students of all ages. Participants should plan to be near an acoustic piano or digital keyboard when attending these lessons.

The American Song

The American Song is a new Make Music Day initiative, capturing the stories and experiences of ordinary people from around the country at this unprecedented time.

In 2020, working through our local chapters, the Make Music Alliance lined up fifty people of all ages with a story to tell, one in each of the 50 States, along with fifty professional songwriters in a variety of styles.

On the morning of June 21, Make Music Day, each songwriter video chatted with one interviewee for an hour. In the afternoon, they wrote a song inspired by their conversation. That evening they did a second video chat with the person and gave a live, private performance of the song they just wrote.

The American Song returns in 2021 with another song for each state. Watch this space for more details.

Click here for YouTube playlist of all fifty videos from 2020

Young Composers Contest

For the second year, the Make Music Alliance is excited to offer a composition contest for composers aged 13-21.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 – June 1, 1921, young composers are invited to write a song for an overdubbed, a cappella baritone singer, using text from a first-hand account of the massacre by B.C. Franklin. A panel of distinguished judges, including composers Hiroya Miura and Trevor Weston, composer/conductor Francisco Núñez, and soprano Talise Trevigne, will provide feedback and select 3 winning pieces.

These pieces will be recorded by baritone Christopher Herbert and released online for Make Music Day on June 21st. Winning composers will also receive a free copy of Finalemusic notation software, courtesy of Make Music Inc.

The submission deadline is May 31st.

(Are you over 21? Be a mentor and share the contest with students and young friends!)

Contest Entry Details
Judges
Baritone Christopher Herbert
Text: The Tulsa Race Riot and Three of its Victims

Archive: Winning Pieces from 2020 Young Composers Contest

Prizes generously provided by Finale:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Window Serenades

Window Serenades share the joy of live music with isolated elderly people, bringing musicians to play outside nursing home windows for those who request a song.

Created as a socially-distanced program in 2020 to provide safe musical performances during a global pandemic, Window Serenades is becoming an annual Make Music Day tradition. If you’re interested in bringing this project to your community, email aaron@makemusicday.org.

Special thanks to Harman Inspired for supporting this project.

Support

Donate

All concerts are free and open to the public. That being said, your donations help make it possible.

If you would like to donate to Make Music Day Denver, please visit the following website.

Volunteer

Having people join our team increases the chances for further success for Make Music Day on June 21st!

If you would like to volunteer with us at Make Music Denver, please contact us at info@confluenceministries.org

Contact

Get in touch with us at info@confluenceministries.org