Flowerpot Music

Make Music Day

Music on June 21 can come from anyone, anywhere, and anything – even flowerpots.

Flowerpot Music, written by celebrated composer Elliot Cole and directed by percussionist Peter Ferry, is a composition for an unlikely but beautiful percussion instrument – the flowerpot! Last year on June 21st, 26 groups around the U.S. assembled in parks, fields and public squares, to learn and then perform the piece, specially composed for Make Music Day.

Flowerpot Music returns in 2023! Join a group and create outdoor soundscapes through easy-to-learn games, appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike.

Register here to start a Flowerpot Music event near you, or to be connected with a local event leader.
 
Mallets for Flowerpot Music generously donated by:

Albany, NY

Location: Washington Park

Time: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Leader: Keith Morales

Email: kmorales@albanyny.gov

Anaheim, CA

Location: Anaheim Packing District

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Leader: Cat Wilson Smith

Email: manderson@aesd.org

Atlanta, GA

Location: Brownwood Park, 607 Brownwood Ave SE

Time: 12:00 PM

Leader: Chelsea Sommers

Email: hello@eastatlantabiz.com

Cheshire, CT

Location: 493 West Main Street

Time: 03:00 pm – 04:00 pm

Email: lblaisdell@ballandsocket.org

Chicago, IL

Location: Horner Park – 2741 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

Time: 05:00 pm – 06:00 pm

Email: mvaldes@classicalmusicchicago.org

Cotuit, MA

Location: Ropes Field, Cotuit

Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Leader: Su D’Ambrosio from Cape Symphony

Email: sue@blt.org

Fair Lawn, NJ

Location: Berdan Park

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Email: art@fairlawn.org

Florence, AL

Location: Florence-Lauderdale Public Library

Time: 11:45 am – 12:30 pm

Leader: Abby Carpenter

Email: abby@flpl.org

Frisco, TX

Location: The Harvest at Frisco Commons, 8000 McKinney Rd

Time: 09:00 am – 10:00 am

Leader: Grayson Dean

Email: gdean@friscotexas.gov

Nashville, TN

Location: Shelby Bottoms Nature Center 1900 Shelby Bottoms Greenway

Time: 01:00 pm – 02:30 pm

Leader: Christine Comer

Email: cvcomer3@gmail.com

New York, NY

Location: The Nethermead in Prospect Park

Time: 05:00 pm – 07:45 pm

Leader: Karl Ronneburg

Email: karl.allmusic@gmail.com

New York, NY

Location: Smiling Hogshead Ranch, 25-30 Skillman Avenue

Time: 03:00 pm – 08:00 pm

Leader: Elizabeth Aceituno

Email: elituno@gmail.com

Orange, CA

Location: The Potting Shed, Orange Plaza

Time: 05:30 pm – 06:00 pm

Leader: Kim Le

Email: kim@pacificconservatoryoc.com

Santa Fe, NM

Location: Santa Fe Railyard Plaza

Time: 03:00 pm – 05:00 pm

Leader: Megan Louderman

Email: francescajozette@gmail.com

Seattle, WA

Location: Pier 62

Time: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Email: brione.rainieravenueradio.world@gmail.com

York County, PA

Locations: Martin Library, Kaltreider-Benfer Library, Dover Library

Time: 12:00 pm – 04:00 pm

Leader: Carmen Walsh

Email: Rita@culturalyork.org

Make Music Day Flowerpot Music: Gallery

Elliot Cole, Composer

Elliot Cole is a composer and “charismatic contemporary bard” (New York Times) whose music “evokes sparkling icicles of sound” (Rolling Stone). He has performed his music with Grammy winners Roomful of Teeth, Grammy nominees A Far Cry and Metropolis Ensemble, as well as Alkemie Early Music Ensemble, Projeto Arcomusical, the Lucerne Festival Academy, and as a member of the book-club-band Oracle Hysterical. His percussion music has been performed by over 250 percussion ensembles all over the world. He is on faculty at The New School and Juilliard Evening Division, and also runs a music school for incarcerated men at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY.

Peter Ferry, Artistic Director

Acclaimed as “the ingenious percussionist Peter Ferry,” (Chicago Sun-Times), Peter Ferry is a young American percussion soloist re-imagining classical performances around the world through contemporary repertoire projects and innovative artistic collaborations. Ferry has been a guest artist at dozens of universities as well as the Zeltsman Marimba Festival in New Brunswick, NJ, and has stepped in as a guest percussionist with acclaimed ensembles Alarm Will Sound, Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, and Eighth Blackbird. With Alarm Will Sound, Ferry serves as the Assistant Director of Artistic Planning, envisioning and managing the artistic activities of one of the world’s leading contemporary music ensembles.

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