NEW YORK, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Make Music Day, the annual global celebration of
music occurring each June 21 and
featuring more than 4,500 free outdoor concerts, music lessons, jam
sessions and other exciting music-making events in 80 U.S. cities,
today announced its updated schedule of events. The all-day musical
celebration on the summer solstice, which brings people of all
styles, ages and skill levels together to make and enjoy music, has
become a worldwide phenomenon observed by hundreds of millions of
people in 800 cities in 120 countries. U.S. cities hosting major
celebrations include New York
City, Los Angeles,
Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Hartford, Madison, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Salem (OR) and Nashville. Additionally, major
buildings and landmarks in participating U.S. cities will turn
orange in honor of Make Music Day.
Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music
Day celebrates and promotes the natural music maker in all of us,
regardless of ability. Reimagining their cities and towns as
stages, every kind of musician – from bucket drummers and opera
singers to hip-hop artists and marching bands – pours onto streets,
parks, plazas, porches, rooftops, gardens and other public spaces
to celebrate, create and share their music with friends, neighbors
and strangers. From Usher-themed car karaoke in the singer's
hometown, and an airport spoon jam, to shower singing in a bustling
downtown square and a "Street Studio" in a cow pasture, Make Music
Day in the U.S. will also offer an impressive lineup of quirky and
one-of-a-kind events.
Launched in France in 1982 as
the Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day is presented in the
U.S. by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make
Music Alliance. In addition to major citywide celebrations, Make
Music Day will also include smaller festivities in other
communities nationwide.
Highlights of Make Music Day in the U.S. include over 200
Mass Appeals that gather large groups of musicians to
participate in impromptu performances using single instruments such
as guitars, harmonicas, accordions, flutes, percussion, trombones,
French horns, synthesizers, ukuleles, djembes and saxophones – and
free guitar, harmonica, ukulele, drum and other instrumental
lessons and being offered nationwide.
Additional national Make Music Day highlights include:
- Stones/Water/Time/Breath – Performances of Dean Rosenthal's experimental composition in
which participants select any body of water and perform a set of
actions designed to create a soothing listening experience will be
held in Boston, Columbia (SC), Martha's Vineyard, Miami and other cities.
- Sousapaloozas – In Chicago, Cleveland, Fullerton, Iowa City, Minneapolis-St.Paul,
Portland (ME) and Salem (OR), hundreds of brass and wind
musicians will join together to play the music of The March King,
John Philip Sousa.
- Street Studios – In New
York, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Nashville, Seattle and even in a cow pasture in
Reedsburg (WI), "Street
Studios" will transport the basic elements of a music studio onto
sidewalks, inviting passersby from the community to join in a
completely improvised music creation session.
- Young Composers Contest – In celebration of Make Music
Day, music technology company MakeMusic and the American Composers
Forum hosted a composition contest for young composers aged 13-21.
The two winners – Adrian B. Sims of
Baltimore and Louis A. Josephson of Princeton Junction (NJ) –
will have their respective pieces, "Force Field" and "Galliard
Overture," performed live in Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul and other select cities
on Make Music Day.
Other events around the U.S. will spotlight the musical history
and ingenuity of each city including:
- Usher-Themed Car Karaoke – In the superstar
singer's Chattanooga hometown,
people will bring their lovers and friends and unleash their inner
Usher in a Green Commuter safely parked at a solar-powered charging
station.
- Shower Singing – Folks can embrace their powerful shower
singing skills right in the middle of busy Lobsterman Park in
downtown Portland (ME), where a
claw foot tub with a shower curtain will be set up. Inside the
shower will be a microphone and amp for people to belt out the
lyrics to their favorite song.
- From Nothing to Something: A BNA Spoon Jam – At the
Nashville International Airport,
travelers will be invited to participate in a mass spoon play-along
event led by Lucius "Spoon Man" Talley and in partnership with the
National Museum of African American Music, and Arts at the Airport.
Travelers will be given a pair of spoons to keep.
- Harlem to Broadway! – At the Richard Rodgers
Amphitheater in Harlem's
Marcus Garvey Park, a concert
celebrating music from the "Great White Way" will be held featuring
selections from the songbooks of legendary composers and
Harlem residents. Presented in
partnership with Jazzmobile and the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance.
- Musical Intervention World Record Attempt – In
New Haven, people brought together
by the Musical Intervention organization will lead an attempt to
break the world record for the most vocal solos in a song
recording. They are inviting at least 365 people to have their
voices recorded, proclaiming the power of music.
- Mount Rushmore Concerts – At the Mount Rushmore National
Memorial outside Rapid City (SD),
seven local music groups – including a marching band, a chorus and
a ukulele orchestra – will perform under the famous faces of
"violinist" Thomas Jefferson,
"classical music patron" Theodore
Roosevelt, "operagoer" Abraham
Lincoln, and George
Washington, father of the country (and of musicians).
- Water Music – At several waterfront locations in
Boston, a new site-specific
environmental work inspired by the Charles River and Handel's
famous piece, "Water Music," will be performed. Listeners will each
create their own experience by walking within and around the
performers (brass players, percussionists and singers).
- Twilight Chorus (for Humans) – At the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden, a choir of sixteen voices will be dispersed across the
grounds singing slowed down transcriptions of birdsong to create
the world premiere of composer Peter M.
Wyer's "Twilight Chorus (for Humans)."
- Lift Every Voice – In Chicago, choirs and vocal ensembles will come
together in a celebration of the diversity of our musical
communities and the power of music to bring people together
regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, class or religion. Each
ensemble will perform on their own around lunchtime at venues
across the city before meeting up for a grand finale performance in
Millennium Park's Wrigley
Square.
- Kingfield Porch Fest – In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the
Kingfield Neighborhood Association will weave its annual Porch Fest
into the local Make Music Day celebration. People will be
encouraged to meander through the neighborhood and enjoy over 50
performances presented on front yard stages.
- Orchestral Play-Along –Students and community musicians
will have the unique opportunity to bring their instruments and
collaborate with members of the Chicago Philharmonic in rehearsing
and performing a free mixed program at Humboldt Park
Boathouse.
- World's Largest "M" – On the site of the largest "M" in
the world, built out of limestone on a hillside in Platteville (WI), participants will play a
variety of percussion instruments on each of the 266 steps leading
to the top.
- Earth Harp – At NAMM's Museum of Making Music in
San Diego, the world's longest
playable stringed instrument – the Earth Harp – will be strung from
the building and played by an ensemble of musicians led by
William Close.
- Lyric Writing and Hip Hop Cypher – In Hartford, local
poet and hip hop educator Roberto "LAUGH" Sanchez will lead a lyric
writing workshop focused on hip hop and hip hop poetry.
Participants can join a cypher circle led by LAUGH and featuring
local hip hop musicians.
- "Spice Girls" Choir – In Philadelphia, South Fellini and
The Passyunk Neighborhood association are partnering up to present
a sing-a-long at Passyunk Square of the Spice Girls song,
"Wannabe."
- "Louie, Louie" Play-a-long – In Issaquah (WA), locals
will gather on the steps of City Hall to play and sing to the
hometown favorite "Louie, Louie."
- Boom Box Marching Parade – Day of Music Fullerton (CA)
will be inaugurating a Boom Box Marching Parade as part of the many
activities celebrating June 21 with
Make Music Day. The parade, down historic Wilshire Avenue to the
Fullerton Museum Plaza, will be marching to the Talking Heads song
"Road to Nowhere."
- Opera at the Ball Park – Members of the Minnesota Opera's multiple choruses will
perform throughout the St. Paul
(MN) Saints' June 21 home game.
Global Make Music Day highlights will include over 500 events in
the U.K. with featured projects for songwriting, brass bands and
rural music-making, 3,000 events in more than 100 cities in
China with an opening ceremony at
the China Millennium Monument in Beijing, Australia's first nationwide celebration,
including a livestreamed performance from the Sydney Opera House, and 200-plus events in
Lagos (Nigeria), headlined by performances at 16
concert venues, Street Studios, a multi-instrument Mass Appeal, and
Learn to Play events.
Additionally, iconic buildings and landmarks in participating
cities worldwide will join their U.S. counterparts in shining
orange in honor of Make Music Day.
All Make Music Day events are free and open to the public.
Participants who wish to perform, or to host musical events, may
register at MakeMusicDay.org. A full schedule of events will be
posted on the website in early June.
About Make Music Day
Held annually on June 21 to coincide with the summer solstice,
Make Music Day is part of the international Fête de la
Musique, taking place in more than 800 cities across 120
countries. The daylong, musical free-for-all celebrates music in
all its forms, encouraging people to band together and play in free
public concerts. This year, 80 U.S. cities and the entire states of
Vermont and Connecticut are organizing Make Music
celebrations, encompassing thousands of music making opportunities
nationwide. Make Music Day is presented by The NAMM Foundation and
coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. For more
information, please visit www.makemusicday.org.
Participating U.S. Make Music Cities in
2018
Allen (TX),
Asbury Park (NJ), Asheville (NC),
Austin, Black Hills | Rapid City (SD), Boise, Boston, Bridgeport, Buffalo, Burlington (VT), Canandaigua (NY), Cary (NC), Cedar Rapids
(IA), Charlotte, Chattanooga, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia (SC), Columbus (OH), Connecticut (statewide), Davis (CA),
Denton (TX), Detroit, El
Paso, Fairfield (CT),
Fullerton, Hartford, Huntsville, Iowa City, Issaquah (WA), Liberty (MO), Long Beach (CA), Los
Angeles, Madison, Mauldin
(SC), Mentor (OH), Miami (FL),
Middletown (CT), Middletown (OH), Milford (CT), Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Montclair (NJ), Muskogee (OK), Nashville, New
Haven, New York, Niagara
Falls (NY), Nicholasville (KY), Northeast CT (Willimantic), Northwest CT (Torrington), Ossining (NY), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Platteville (WI), Portland (ME), Port
Townsend (WA), Provo, Reedsburg (WI), Rochester (NY), Roselle Park (NJ), Salem (OR), San
Antonio, San Diego,
San Jose, Seattle, Somerville (NJ), Southeast CT (New London), St.
Louis, Stamford (CT),
Stratford (CT), Suwanee (GA),
Tinley Park (IL), Vermont (statewide), Washington (DC),
Waterbury (CT), Wichita, Worcester and Wyoming County (NY).
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a
non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music
Merchants and its 10,300 members around the world. The NAMM
Foundation works to advance active participation in music making
across the lifespan by supporting scientific research,
philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more
information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit
www.nammfoundation.org.
Contact: Rubenstein
Communications
Marisa
Wayne mwayne@rubenstein.com, 212-843-9216
Adam Miller amiller@rubenstein.com,
212-843-8032
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-music-day-2018-announces-updated-schedule-300653037.html
SOURCE Make Music Day