On December 21, the year’s longest night will be filled with music in 35 cities across America. Make Music Winter is a free outdoor musical celebration that will bring together people from all walks and skill levels to sing, march, play instruments and promote harmony through music. Take advantage of these unique opportunities for vibrant cultural exchanges while you spread cheer throughout your community.
This year, new compositions from drummers Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Glenn Kotche (Wilco) will be premiered as a part of Make Music Winter’s Bell by Bell program.
Make Music Winter 2022
In seven cities across the US on December 21, 2022 (Astoria, OR; Auburn, CA; Land O’ Lakes, WI; Los Angeles, CA; New London, CT; New York, NY; and Salem, OR), dozens of color-coded diatonic bells will be distributed to the crowd.
Each color will be a different note. A team of conductors will wave colored flags associated with each bell. The group will be led to play the composition, creating a beautiful soundscape. You don’t need musical skills to join in and play the pieces. Brian Chase will perform as one of the many conductors at the New York performance.
Another highlight of MMW 2023 is The Resonant Path. This musical experience features a path lined with resonant gongs and will be continuously played over an hour. Participants take a sonic journey, with the soundscape of musical gongs rising and falling around them as they pass through.
In Elgin, IL, the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra percussion ensemble is inviting everyone to experience a unique soundscape at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center with their gongs set up along a wooded trail for you to explore through rolling, tapping, and crashing.
In Boston, MA, immerse yourself in an unforgettable experience on the Rose Kennedy Greenway! Join percussionist Wesley Fowler and his talented Berklee colleagues as they create a majestic sonic landscape of gong sounds with every step you take.
And in Chicago, IL, the 76th Midwest Clinic brings together an impressive array of up to 30 gong players from far and wide in the spectacular setting of McCormick Place convention center’s Central Concourse. It’s a Chicago event not to be missed!
Other Resonant Path locations include Auburn, CA, and Macon, GA. All information about events and participating cities is available at makemusicwinter.org.
New Compositions from Brian Chase and Glenn Kotche to be premiered
During this year’s Make Music Winter celebration, new compositions from Chase and Kotche will be premiered at the Bell by Bell events.
Brian Chase is a Brooklyn-based drummer, composer, and drone musician. His diverse range of work includes the drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, NY’s experimental music scene, and Drums & Drones, Brian’s solo project.
Chase has performed worldwide, including the Sydney Opera House, Toronto’s X Avant Festival, and many notable venues in New York City. Three of his recorded works with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were nominated for a Grammy.
Glenn Kotche is the drummer of the alternative rock band Wilco. Through his work with the band and various other collaborations, Glenn injects different elements of world percussion into new genres and styles.
He also uses found objects in his playing to create new sounds inspired by everyday life, blending traditional percussive elements into his music. Throughout his career, he continues to reshape the soundscape of modern music with engaging grooves behind many unforgettable songs worldwide.
Make Music Winter is presented by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance.
Be sure to post on social media with #MakeMusicWinter on December 21, 2022.
About Make Music Winter
Make Music Winter is a free outdoor musical celebration held each December 21 that turns audiences into music makers. Make Music Winter began in New York City in 2011 and has since spread to over three dozen cities across the country.
With a diverse array of talent and themes, Make Music Winter transforms cityscapes with musical parades on the winter solstice. Make Music Winter is presented by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. For more information, please visit makemusicwinter.com.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 15,000 member companies and individual members around the world.
The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music-making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, visit nammfoundation.org.
