The fifth nationwide Make Music Winter celebration will take place on December 21st! Like Make Music Day on June 21, Make Music Winter is a free, outdoor, participatory musical event that turns audiences into music makers. Since 2011, it has been organized in New York City with over a dozen musical parades each December 21 – the shortest day of the year – and more than 35 cities joined the party in 2021. This year, join a parade near you, or start up one of your own! It is a wonderful way to celebrate music making and stay warm during the winter.
 Make Music Winter’s signature Bell by Bell program also returns nationwide in 2022, featuring the world premieres of new compositions by Brian Chase (Grammy-nominated Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Glenn Kotche (Wilco), named one of the “Greatest Drummers of All Time” by Rolling Stone. In eight cities on December 21 (Astoria, OR, Auburn, CA, Land O’ Lakes, WI, Los Angeles, CA, Milwaukee, WI, New London, CT, New York, NY, and Salem, OR) an event leader will distribute dozens of color-coded diatonic bells to the crowd, one color per note. At the front of the group, a team of conductors will wave corresponding colored flags to lead the group in slowly moving music by the composers, creating a sonorous, atmospheric soundscape. No one needs to be a musician in order to join in and play the pieces. At the New York performance, Brian Chase will perform as one of the conductors. In California’s Auburn and Long Beach cities, as well as Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Elgin, IL, and Macon, GA, participants can allow The Resonant Path to melt away the past year’s frustrations. Each city will present a path lined with gongs, continuously played over the course of an hour, that creates a natural crescendo and decrescendo as participants walk past, enveloped in waves of sound. Additional Make Music Winter events will take place in Altoona, PA; Clatsop County, OR; Federal Way, WA; La Crosse, WI; Land O Lakes, WI; Los Angeles, CA; Macon, GA; Montclair, NJ; Mystic, CT; Ossining, NY; Polk County, OR; Salem, OR; and Tucson, AZ. From harmonica jams to yodeling workshops, unique Make Music Winter programs are being planned around the country. All information about events and participating cities will be posted as details are confirmed at www.makemusicwinter.org. |
