Celebrate the first day of winter on December 21st at the anuual Make Music Winter event!
Make Music Winter, now in its fifth year, is a free, outdoor musical event each December 21st that turns audiences into music makers. Inspired by Phil Kline’s annual boombox parade Unsilent Night, Make Music Winter transforms New York’s cityscape with a dozen participatory musical parades on the winter solstice.
Parade Schedule:
Alpine Echoes with Joan La Barbara: Parade starts at W 187th St and Ft Washington Ave, at 12 p.m., and ends at Bennett Park at 1p.m. To join, just show up ready to sing.
Bell By Bell with Tom Payton: Parade starts at DUMBO Archway (Water St & Anchorage Pl) at 6:00 p.m., and ends at Brooklyn Bridge Park at Old Dock Street at 7:30 p.m. To join, just show up with your hands free!
Decantations with Ravi Kittappa and Karl Larson: Parade starts at three locations near Athens Square Park in Astoria, Queens, at 3:00 p.m., and end Athens Square Park at 4:00 p.m. Fill out a form on the website to be assigned to a group; on Dec. 21, bring a sustaining instrument or download the drone files to your phone or playback device.
Flat Foot Flatbush with Nick Horner Family: Parade start at 604 Pacific St (across from Barclays Center) at 4:00 p.m., and ends at Ideya Brooklyn 636 Carlton Ave at 6:30 p.m. All are invited to play, sing, and dance — no experience necessary! To dance, bring tap shoes or an old pair of sneakers and make your own at the workshop. To play, bring your instrument (email Nick by Dec. 18 to receive the music).
The Gaits: A High Line Soundwalk with Lainie Fefferman, Jascha Narveson, Cameron Britt and Daniel Iglesia: Parade starts at the southern end of the High Line, at the base of the Gansevoort Stairs, at 5:00 p.m. (For elevator access, enter to the left of the stairs.) It ends at the northern end of the High Line, at 6:30 p.m. Download the free Gaits application to your phone. Bring a small battery-powered speaker if you have one. Speakers will be available on loan for the first 100 participants.
Kalimbascope with J.C. King: Parade starts at Trans-Pecos, 915 Wyckoff Ave, Ridgewood, at 4:30 p.m., and ends at Maria Hernandez Park, Bushwick, at 5:30 p.m. Bring a kalimba (thumb piano), chimes or hand bells tuned to Db. Kalimbas will be available for the first 25 participants to borrow.
Melrose Parranda with Bronx Music Heritage Center, City Lore: Parade starts at the Bronx Documentary Center, 614 Cortland Ave, at 4:00 p.m., and ends at Casita Rincón Criollo, Brook Ave and 157th St, at 6:00 p.m. Come ready to sing, dance, and play!
La Trullita Navidena with El Puente and BombaYo: Parade starts at El Puente Headquarters, 211 S. 4th Street (Brooklyn), at 4:30 p.m., and ends at El Puente Leadership Center at Independence Houses, 114 Taylor St, 7:30 p.m. All are invited to sing, dance and play. Bring your instrument (or your voice) and show up to any of the venues along the way!
Pilgrimage with Malcolm J. Merriweather: Parade starts at the West Park Presbyterian Church, 165 W 86th Street, at 6:00 p.m., and ends at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave, at 7:30 p.m. Bring a flashlight and print out the sheet music. A limited number of lights and scores will be distributed for those without.
Prelude with James Holt: Parade starts on the west side of 5th Avenue at 64th Street at 4:00 p.m., and ends at 5 p.m., location to be announced. To perform, download the Susync app to your iPhone (sorry, no Android version), and bring it along with a pair of earbuds.
RPM/BLINK/Wheels with P. Spadine, Merche Blasco, and Nissim Schaul: Parade starts at Grand Army Plaza (Brooklyn), at 5:30 p.m., and ends Grand Army Plaza at 7:00 p.m. Bring your bicycle (and a screwdriver to attach your bell)!