NAMM Members to Celebrate Make Music Day

Elizabeth Dale

Make Music Day (MMD) is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st. Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held on the same day in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Completely different from a typical music festival, MMD 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.

MMD and its global programming would not be possible without passionate musicians and the equally passionate manufacturers and retailers who donate their products, time, and services to encourage music-making in their communities and across the world.

This year offers more chances to celebrate Make Music Day than ever before. Here is a partial list of how some NAMM Members are participating:

Concerts
Hal Leonard employees will perform outside their office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Malmark will use its manufacturing site as a stage for Community Ring, a ringing and drumming event featuring handbells, handchimes, and cajons; and Middlesex Music Academy will host student recitals. Willis Music is producing a stage for Make Music Cincinnati that will host a variety of performances. Steinway & Sons is hosting its artists in New York City's Times Square at noon.

Flowerpot Music
This event is made possible by a donation of 500 pairs of mallets from Vic Firth. 

In-Store Events
Exciting in-store events will take place at King Music and Music & Arts West Hartford. Keur Djembe Drum Shop will host a drum circle, Uncle Jon's Music will host a ukulele circle, and BAC Musical Instruments is partnering to bring a “no experience required sound-making event” to Make Music Kansas City.

Instrument Donations
Making music is only enhanced with the addition of a wide variety of instruments. A special thanks to H Jimenez for donating a violin and guitar for a mariachi event in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and to Rhythm Band Instruments, for donating 40 sets of hand percussion and Boomwhackers. Farley’s Pianos, for supplying the piano to Make Music Madison, Jackson Pianos, a sponsor and the piano provider of Make Music St. Louis; Piano Piano, for contributing pianos to Riverside Park event; and Steinway & Sons for donating providing the piano for the Music Traveler's program. Thank you to Dynamic Percussion, Menchey Music, and Panyard, who partnered to donate steel pans to 10 participating Make Music Day cities. 

Mass Appeal Event
Alfred Music is donating 1,600 ukulele books nationwide while Beethoven and Company, Best in Music, Kudzu Music, Middlesex Music Academy, Northern Music Service, Pfabe’s Music Service, Pleasantville Music, PM Music, San Diego Music Studio, Senseney Music are all participating in the event.

MixMash Studios
Two of Ableton’s endorsed producers, Martin Delaney and Marcello Ruggiu, will create a track from public sound samples. https://www.makemusicday.org/national-projects/mixmash-studios/

Music Lesson Marathon
Jupiter Band Instruments will host eight hours of free brass masterclasses, and Keur Djembe Drum Shop will provide drum lessons. J.W. Pepper will offer free music lessons from their talented staff members from 12:30 to 3:30 in Chester County. Nuvo Instruments will hold six hours of interactive children’s music, and Song-a-Day Music Center will open its studios for lessons.

Promotion
Elixir Strings will post performance videos on their social media channels and Bass Boss is promoting MMD through email and social media users in the Los Angeles area. UltimateEars is reaching out to media outlets to promote MMD, including curating a special playlist for the event on Spotify.

This Moment in Time Event
Pustjens Percussion Products is a proud partner of This Moment in Time, providing instruments and players. Gongs Unlimited and Sabian, who are promoting the event to their customers, Zildjian, whois donating a gong to Make Music Boston, and CMS Music and Groth Music, whoare participating.

Young Composers Contest
Make Music Inc. is providing copies of Finale software to the three winners of the contest.

National and City Partners
Industry leaders are partnering with individual cities to help produce Make Music Day events, including, Sweetwater which is a National Make Music Day sponsor. Other national event partners include Casio, which is donating 25 keyboards for unique music-making experiences across the nation; D’Addario, which is donating 500 pairs of ProMark drumsticks for nationwide bucket drumming events; Flight, which is providing 12 hours of free ukulele lessons; Harman, which is supporting Window Serenades across the nation with employee participation; and Hohner, which is donating 2,400 harmonicas and organizing 12 hours of free lessons.

Bill Harris Music: Make Music Utah (Provo)
Blues Angel Music: Make Music Pensacola
Brass Bell Music: Make Music Milwaukee
Buddy Roger’s Music: Make Music Cincinnati
Candyman Strings & Things: Co-organizer of Make Music Santa Fe
Cyndi Hall’s Music Studio: Co-organizer of Make Music Ventura County
Fox Music House: Make Music Charleston
Heid Music: Make Music Appleton
Hickey’s Music: Make Music Ithaca
Korg: Make Music Austin
L&M Lessons: Make Music Tucson
Merle’s Music: Make Music Rolla, Missouri
Mike Risko Music: Make Music Ossining
Rice Music House: Make Music Columbia
Piano Trends: Make Music Crystal Lake
RC Williams Company: co-organizing Make Music Kansas City
River City Rock Star Academy: Make Music Salem
Showgear Online: Make Music Nigeria


If you are a NAMM Member and plan to celebrate Make Music Day with a special event and are not listed above, please contact matt@makemusicday.org to be included on the list. For more information about Make Music Day, including a full list of participating cities and events, please visit www.makemusicday.org.