Make Music Day 2023

Ball & Socket Arts with our neighbor, West Main Music Academy join the Make Music Day, as part of the Make Music New Haven celebration with a free WMMA jam, musical instrument petting zoo, sharing of handmade organ grinders, and an edition of Flower Pot Music on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.

Make Music Day is a one-day event where free, live musical performances, opportunities to make music and other musical events take place around the world on the longest day of the year. Musical festivities in Cheshire will be part of a global celebration of music making in over 1,000 cities inspired by France’s Fête de la Musique.

West Main Music Academy invites everyone from professional musicians to people who have never picked up an instrument to join in the global music celebration by attending these events. All events will take place in the Cheshire municipal lot next to the Pollinator Garden on the Farmington Canal Linear Trail (across from 55 Railroad Avenue, and behind Rossini's).

The event organizers highly recommend biking or walking to the day to prevent congestion. Parking recommendations and on-site guidance will be provided by local volunteers and available at ballandsocket.org.

The day will kick-off with a free music jam from 12- 2 pm featuring a house band of West Main Music Academy teachers. Students and local musicians can join the fun. For a list of available songs, please visit our website or contract Grant at grant@westmainmusicacademy.com. During the WMMA jam, the fun continues with a musical instrument petting zoo to encourage young and old musicians to try new instruments and expand their repetoire.

Music on June 21 can come from anyone, anywhere, and anything – even flowerpots. From 3-4 pm, Jessica Cerullo, a CT-based social practice artist will lead a participatory performance of Flower Pot Music. 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 will appear in Cheshire for the first time in 2023! Join a group and create outdoor soundscapes through easy-to-learn games, appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike. Bring your own flowerpot (or bowl!). Mallets and instruction provided on-site.