Make Music Rochester – Wednesday, June 21

I don’t usually write about events ex-ante, because it’s difficult to have an opinion on something before it happens. But Make Music Rochester is different for two reasons: first, it will only happen once a year, so writing about it right after it occurs wouldn’t be useful in generating any interest in it, and second, I’m involved in organizing it!

Make Music Rochester is modeled after a Parisian tradition (Fête de la Musique) that began in 1982 as a tribute to the Summer Solstice. In 2007, New York City caught the bug, and Make Music Day is now a worldwide event that includes 38 cities in North America. It is completely free to attend, and embraces performers of all ages and ability. Our motto is: Music For Everyone, By Anyone. I’d never heard about it until I reconnected with Maria Furguiele, Interim Executive Director of Community Design Center Rochester. We were talking about the ‘outdoor living spaces’ in our city, and how to utilize them better. Since we are such a musical town, this seemed like a natural fit.

We began hatching our plans only in March, so we didn’t have a lot of time to pull this off. We consulted with folks at the Make Music Alliance, in NYC (sort of the mother ship of Make Music Day in the U.S.), who have been incredibly helpful and supportive. In the meantime, Maria and I recruited two additional organizers (Julie Schnepf, co-owner of Bernunzio Uptown Music, and Monika Reifenstein, from my a cappella group, Rocappella), who dove in head first to get our organic event off the ground.

We then had to reach out, quickly, to both potential venues and potential performers. Not everyone ‘got it,’ but those who did were extremely enthusiastic. Julie and I both begged our mutual friend Sandy Gianniny to play her harp, and she graciously agreed. Locations include Bernunzio’s, of course, as well as Hart’s, House of Guitars, the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC), and the newly opened Charlotte Square. Rocappella is performing at Tower280 between 7 and 8 pm. There are even a couple of participatory events, including a harmonica lesson and jam at Record Archive, and a kiddie sing-along at RMSC. Some of the venues are inside, but most are outdoors, so we’re hoping for a pleasant, dry day…

Our goal, of course, is to make this an annual event, and expand to more locations (including public parks) and involve more musicians. You can check out the entire lineup here: http://www.makemusicroc.org and comedown to listen to some music and maybe have a bite at one of our many restaurants! The good news is that, since this is under the radar, parking lot fees won’t be ridiculously high like they are for some other festivals…