On June 21, 2023, Fresno will host a musical festival to celebrate the longest day of the year! Join Make Music Fresno for free concerts on sidewalks, at storefronts, and in parks across the city!
About
Make Music Day was launched by the French Ministry of Culture in 1982. France held the new celebration, called FĂŞte De La Musique, on the summer solstice – the longest day of the year. The ministry encouraged everyone to go outside and Make Music. Professional artists and curious bystanders alike joined the in the celebration. The free musical performances continued from morning to night at locations throughout the city – parks, gardens, street corners, rooftops, restaurants, shops – wherever music could be enjoyed. The holiday quickly inspired millions. More than 40 years later, Make Music Day has expanded into more than a thousand cities in more than 100 countries worldwide!
This year, Fresno joins the celebration by launching its very first Make Music Day on Wednesday, June 21! Make Music Fresno invites everyone to participate no matter their musical skill. There will be free musical performances at locations throughout the city. There will also be instrumental demonstrations for those new to music and opportunities to participate in group performance events. This inaugural Make Music Day is an opportunity to highlight the uniquely beautiful scope and diversity of musical talent, culture, passion, and expression found here in Fresno. It is a chance to bring the community together in a celebration of music.
GROUP EVENTS
Music draws people together. These group events encourage audience participation and are designed for people of all ages and skill levels! Come explore your inner musician!
Children’s Musical Storytime: (Betty Rodriguez Library 9-9:30am) Start the day off right with interactive children’s music to shake and wiggle to. Bring your little ones and join in the fun with staff members Miss Isariya and Mister Ben.
Drum Circle: (Betty Rodriguez Library 10-10:45am) Come enjoy a drum circle at Betty Rodriguez Library! Whether it’s your first time or you’re a percussion pro… join in the fun. The drum circle will also feature Jumbie Jams from Panyard Music.
Harmonica Tutorial with John Clifton: (Betty Rodriguez Library 11am-12pm) John Clifton is an international blues performer with roots in Fresno. He will give a group harmonica lesson followed by a special performance featuring some of his original music. Free harmonicas from Hohner Harmonica for the first 30 participants!
Roomful of Pianos: (Gottschalk Piano 9-10am, Valley Pianos 4-5pm) Local pianists have the opportunity to perform at Gottschalk Piano and Valley Pianos on their beautiful instruments. Come to play or come to enjoy!
Make An Instrument: (Koligian Park 6:30-7:30pm) Area Girls and Boy Scouts will teach you how to make your own instrument. Or bring your own instrument and join in the fun!
Free Group Guitar Lesson: (Guitar Center Fresno 7-8pm) Get started on your guitar journey with a free lesson at Guitar Center Fresno! RSVP today or for more info, call or stop by your local Guitar Center store.
Flowerpot Music: (Woodward Park 8-9 am, Campus Pointe 5-6 pm) Written by celebrated composer Elliot Cole, flower pot music is a uniquely beautiful musical experience. BRING A FLOWER POT OR A METAL BOWL and we will provide the “music” and the Vic Firth mallets.
Panyard Jumbie Jam: (Woodward Park 8-9 am, Campus Pointe 5-6 pm)Try out a steel drum… Panyard Music will provide the jumbie jam drums and the sheet music… you provide the fun and the imagination.
Or Relax and enjoy a professional do their thing.
Musicians – It’s not too late to join in!
If you are a performer and would like to participate, go to our to participate page to register. When you register, include information about the type of music you play, whether you need electricity at your venue, and when you are available to perform. Our location generator will help you connect with a venue near you! Venues – if you are interested in hosting musicians, visit our participate page to connect with artists. We welcome everything – from outdoor stages to storefronts to front lawns. You will be able to choose the time frame, the genre of music you would like to host, and which amenities you have available for performers.
Or, create your own event and register your performance on our site! A little free advertising never hurts.
And if you decide not to register, just get outside somewhere and play on June 21!
Let’s Make Music Fresno!
Participate
Welcome to Fresno’s inaugural Make Music Day!
To participate in Make Music Day as either a performer or a host, visit our Music Matchmaking Site to create your profile. There you will be able to select details such as genre preference, time frame, and electrical needs. Venues – Please only register a venue if you are the venue’s representative. We need to secure permits for many public spaces. However, you may register events at local parks. Performers – after your performer profile has been set up, you can search for participating venues and send them requests to play. We are currently in the process of gathering additional venues so, if you register as a performer and do not immediately find a match, we will connect you with a venue as soon as one becomes available that would like to host your genre. There is NO registration fee required.
If you have any questions, watch this quick video about how to register as a performer or venue.
After you register, the matchmaking between performers and venues will begin!
Thank you for helping to make Make Music Day Fresno a success!
https://fresno.makemusicday.org
Who else is taking part?
Over 22 artists, including:
Alta Piano Quartet -- Athena Paz and Jay Clarin -- COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION - FLOWER POT MUSIC -- Chill-X reggae band -- Damian Torres -- Free Group Guitar Lesson -- Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts -- Isariya Locke and Ben Betita - Children's Musical Storytime (Community Participation Event) -- Jeffrey Bowman -- John Clifton - Introduction to Harmonica (Community Participation Event) -- Justin Ferris -- Kenny Hall's Friends -- Laurel Ridgway Community Drum Circle (Community Participation Event) -- Namanjot Kaur & Saanvi Singh -- Paige Xiong -- Peter Emerson -- Pieter Moerdyk -- Room Full of Pianos Open Venue - Pianists of all skill levels welcome! Come Play! -- Scats on the Sly -- Sid Vixay -- Terracites and Friends -- Tony Imperatrice
Over 11 venues, including:
Betty Rodriguez Regional Library -- Campus Pointe at Fresno State -- Central Library -- Gottschalk Piano -- Guitar Center - Fresno -- Koligian Park -- River Park Shopping Center -- Sante Fe Basque Restaurant -- The Pickin' Porch -- Valley Pianos -- Woodward Park - Art of Life Exhibit
Volunteer
If you are a musician looking to offer specialized help during one of our Make Music Day events, we would love to hear from you! If you have never picked up an instrument in your life, but you know a good opportunity to serve when you see it, we’d love to hear from you too! Please e-mail us at fresno@makemusicday.org and type VOLUNTEER in the subject line. Thank you!
We Need You!
Donate
Help us keep a good thing going!
Make Music Fresno is a small group of volunteers. We work out of our home and donate time and resources to keep costs low, but we still need donations to help us secure signage and permit fees.
Make Music Fresno is sponsored by the Make Music Alliance. If you would like to support Make Music Day Fresno, simply make a PayPal donation to the Make Music Alliance HERE. Please type “Fresno” in the Special Instructions.
OR Send a Check
Make Music Alliance
Please write “Fresno” in the Memo
415 Summit Avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079
(646) 657-9709
The Make Music Alliance is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
If you would like to become a corporate sponsor of Make Music Day Fresno, please contact us! We would LOVE to add your logo to our upcoming Sponsors page.
Every little bit helps, so THANK YOU for your donation!
Make Music Fresno is a Chapter of the Make Music Alliance.
INSTRUMENTS DONATED BY: VIC FIRTH, HOHNER, PANYARD, GOTTSCHALK PIANO, VALLEY PIANOS
2023 Listings: Wednesday, June 21st
Sponsors
Make Music Fresno is extremely grateful to our sponsors who have helped make Make Music Day Fresno possible by donating instruments and music for the event!
Alfred Music
Alfred Music, a longstanding Make Music Day partner, returns in 2023 to support guitar events nationwide.
As part of the new “String Together” initiative, Alfred Music is providing free copies of guitar chord books for events at dozens of music retailers, setting new players off on their musical journeys.
Hohner
Make Music partner Hohner has long been a leader in the harmonica field.
In 2023, for the eleventh straight year, Hohner is generously providing thousands of free harmonicas across dozens of cities for Make Music Day, allowing countless first-time players to start developing the skills to make music throughout the year.
Panyard
For the third Make Music Day, Panyard will supply Jumbie Jams, an entry level steel pan designed to be easily playable by anyone, to eleven Make Music chapters.
The steel pans will be used in participatory events and “petting zoos” on June 21, introducing the instrument – an icon of Trinidadian culture – to a wider audience in cities from coast to coast.
The Vic Firth Company, setting the standard for percussion since its inception in 1963, is supporting two major Make Music events this year.
For the third year, percussionists who attend Flowerpot Music events across the country will be provided with Vic Firth’s Balter mallets, and invited to make music together. Anyone can join the events and make a great sound on a flowerpot – no experience required!
Contact
We would Love to hear from you!
Email us at fresno@makemusicday.org
