Violin students of the former USSR, playing in unison, 1947, the year Prokofiev wrote Opus 115

Sergei Prokofiev is one of the world’s most performed composers — played more often by American orchestras than Haydn, Ravel, or Stravinsky –  yet one masterpiece has slipped through the cracks.

Prokofiev wrote his Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin, Opus 115 to be played in a group, but remarkably, it has never been so performed in the US.

Join Make Music New York to make history, and join violinists from the Yale School of Music to realize Prokofiev’s dream! The performance will take place outdoors in the West Village on June 21st.

For more information and to sign up, email eva.allan@yale.edu.

Are you a toy piano player? Do you have your own toy piano?

This year, we need both your talents AND your instrument for a special project we’re preparing for June 21st.

If you want to have fun joining a cutting-edge, high-profile concert, can commit to one rehearsal, and are ready to spend a few hours playing music on June 21… please contact us as soon as possible!

E-mail pierre@makemusicny.org to get more details about our plan.

UPDATE: click here for more details and to sign up!

When you bring a bunch of musicians who play the same instrument together, you call it a herd. When it’s a bunch of singers, you call it a chorus. And when you do it for Make Music New York, you call it Mass Appeal: Mass.

We are graced this year with conductor Kent Tritle, not only an organist, leading choral conductor, director of the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, and WQXR DJ, but an enthusiastic leader of this special event, one that will bring together upwards of 250 singers, in Tritle’s estimate. And, as the name suggests, the music to be performed is masses, famous works from Mozart and Handel.

From Handel, there will be selections from the Messiah, and Tritle will be leading Mozart’s Coronation Mass, with talented, experienced soloists. These are celebratory pieces, perfect for MMNY, and the setting is the inviting Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking district.  Here is the opening “Kyrie” of the Mozart mass, in a very different kind of public setting:

Tritle will not have an orchestra at his disposal, but Michael Sheetz will be accompanying the singers at the piano. And who are the singers? Well, along with Jamet Pittman, Meg Bragle, John Tiranno and Jesse Blumberg, the ‘ringers’ who will be taking the solo parts, the chorus is . . . you. New York is full of chorus and singers, and Tritle works with many ensembles and is expecting a cohort of choristers, but this is a Mass Appeal event, so it’s fundamentally sing-it-yourself. A good example of how this works is the annual Sing-It-Yourself Messiah that is a staple of Christmas in San Francisco, an event where anyone who has ever sung in the chorus for the Messiah, or has ever sung in a chorus at some point in their lives, or who has ever wanted to sing in a chorus, or who has ever sung(!) is welcome to participate. And that’s all of us. Beyond singing in the shower, singing is what we do, it’s one of the things that make us human, and we all have an instrument.

Bring yours, Tritle would love to hear it. As he says, the only requirement is that you have music in hand (you can download these PDFs for the Mass and the Messiah) and joy in your heart. Experience is not necessary (Nor is the ability to read music strictly necessary; if you can follow the tune, and follow your fellow choristers – and the soloists will support all the singers – or even if you are familiar with how the music goes, join in – ed.). While singing in public can seem nerve-wracking, you will be with dozens of other people, sharing the same experience of making music together. There’s safety in numbers, certainly, but (without getting too pop-psych on everyone), there’s the inherent fun and confidence of doing something that is so natural; opening up your voice and making a joyful sound. Tritle wants to hear you sing for the city, for Make Music New York.

I’ve written about this before, but when you mix music and public spaces, you have to deal with the signal-to-noise ratio. And when those public spaces are in a dense environment like New York City, the importance of the issue goes up by orders of magnitude.

New York is a noisy place, and although there’s little acknowledgement of this in public policy and even less in action, noise is by definition a pollutant, stressful and an actual health-hazard. Everyone knows this intuitively because everyone experiences it. I don’t mean the stressful conflict between someone’s desire to sleep late and their neighbor’s desire to playing something loudly at 7am, I mean the basic problem of noise in public spaces; car horns, screeching subway trains, construction sounds, sirens, garbage trucks. Those things are, to the vast majority, obviously obnoxious.

But while it’s easy to develop a public consensus against things like trash in the streets, it’s much, much harder to separate one person’s signal from another person’s noise. That car driving down the street? All I can hear from the sidewalk is the sheer sonic weight of the sub-woofer shaking the plastic trim, while the driver is enjoying the envelope of the song. That’s the issue in this story that describes how the Central Park Conservancy and the Parks and Rec Department are trying to make sections of the park ‘noise’ free by banning music-making. I sympathize with the desire to created quiet in a city where it is so hard for groups of people to find, but, as a musician, I loathe that anyone thinks of music as noise. It is also disappointing, there’s no other word, to see that a sign has been put up at the Bethseda Terrace, which is such a wonderful physical space for acoustic music. It has tremendous resonance and, since it’s semi-enclosed, it’s ideal for quiet instruments whose sound would evaporate almost immediately on a lawn or in an open plaza. It’s also the site of the Mass Appeal: Flutes music for Make Music New York, so at least for one day the restriction will be lifted, and I’m confident that many people will enjoy what they hear.

If you’ve even only glanced at our blog, you know that Mass Appeal events are a big part of Make Music New York. They also are probably the single best expression of our values and purpose; Mass Appeal is an invitation to musicians of all skill levels to get together and play. Most require little or no preparation or even administration – there is a location, someone who leads, and the rest is up to you, me, all of us. Show up and play!

And “show up and play” has never meant more than it will this June 21 at the Mass Appeal: Guitars events. At Union Square, from 4pm – 8pm, guitarists will swarm the park and create a massive ensemble, strumming their way through Classic Rock, Folk and Pop songs, with local musicians performing some short sets in between. This downtown portion is for guitarist of all skill levels, ages and styles, and is being produced by the NYC Guitar School. To join in, contact Alicia Barrett at massappeal@nycguitarschool.com, or you can RSVP directly through Meetup.com. All the chords and charts for the music will be sent to you, and there’s a practice session available if you want to hone your chops.

Uptown, there’s another version of the same event, this one at 92nd Street Y, which is producing it through their Guitar Institute. This is a guitar-playing event for anyone who has a guitar . . . even if you’ve never played it! As Clement So, Artistic Administrator at 92Y explained to me, you can “think of it as a class, and you can start” playing at the event. Or, think of it as a giant garageband rehearsal, with everybody in the band.

Leading the event is Chris Bergson, Blues/Rock instructor at the Institute and an accomplished musician (check out tracks from his new release, Imitate the Sun, at his site). He will be teaching everyone the songs on the spot, meaning if you’re doing a twelve-bar blues, he will show you the three chords and then lead everyone in the tune. With the help of his bassist and an erasable chalkboard on which to lay out progressions and chord charts, Bergson will be guiding everyone through two sessions, Blues from 5:30pm – 6:30pm, and Funk/R&B from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. Beyond the absolute basics, he’ll be sharing choice licks and riffs, the kind of thing that Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix themselves picked up when they were learning to play.

The guitar has been around for centuries, but in the last one, electrified, it became the AK-47 of musical instruments, although with the opposite result of being constructive, not destructive (although some parents of teenagers might disagree). It’s everywhere, inexpensive, and once you pick one up it’s pretty easy to not only get a good sound out of it but start playing whole songs. It’s an exciting history, and Bergson wants to get people excited about playing guitar. Since he, So and their colleagues at 92Y’s School of Music have designed an event where people who have never played the instrument before can come out, get together with others and start making music, in front of an audience, immediately, it seems there’s a lot to be excited about. As he says, “one of my goals as a teacher is to have people walk away being able to play something,” so go play something with Chris.

Hi again Folks,

I’m back to uncover what it is that makes Make Music New York tick – the multitude of partnerships between artists and venues. We’re finding out what these people are about and what to expect from them when the real day hits.

This interview focuses on two themes of MMNY. For one, this is just a single example of hundreds of artists partnering with a park on June 21st. In this case, the artist rarely collaborates with a parks representative, but instead reserves a block of time through MMNY (which then provides the artist with a NYC Parks Department permit to perform care-free in a beautiful park). For the other, the artist we’re about to meet is a leader of MMNY’s Mass Appeal series, an expanding collective of musical ensembles made up of single types of instruments that anyone can join. Each Mass Appeal Leader organizes an event to celebrate the uniqueness of their favorite instrument by allowing all members to play in some way or other. And so, without further ado…

Meet Mary-Ann Tu, the connector of all things flute-related in New York City. After spending twenty years in banking, Mary-Ann returned to her music performance roots in so many productive ways that I find it hard to count, so thankfully they’re all on her website www.masterclassesnyc.com. She also happens to be a trained ballet dancer. Mainly known in the flute world for organizing opportunities for others, it only makes sense that Mary-Ann has been part of MMNY for four years.

(Since I won’t be interviewing Central Park, we’ll let Mass Appeal at the Bethesda tunnel from 2010 capture the spirit of an outdoor performance in the heart of New York City.)

[This interview has been edited for length.]

How did you first hear about Make Music New York?

You know, I think a friend of mine forwarded me the information that Make Music New York sent out.

So what made you choose the tunnel near Bethesda Fountain this year?

The tunnel, because the flute’s sounds dissipates and I wanted to have some echo so that you didn’t have to blow your brains out. And you know, everyone liked it. That’s the best location for flutes in my opinion. Plus if it rains we can still play.

What should someone expect if they’ve never played with your group before and they show up on June 21st?

Well, they should just come, bring their music stand, and sight-read with everybody. That’s it. If the music is too hard, I bring all levels of music so that people can drop in or drop out. I don’t even know what we’ll be playing since it’s based on who shows up, so it’s very spontaneous. We’ll sight-read in the beginning and then do a piece led by Zara Lawler for approximately 15 minutes, which intertwines music and movement. Sight-readers won’t participate in Zara’s piece since people need to rehearse prior.  If people are interested in participating, they’ll need to show up to a rehearsal.  It’s all on the website [link here].  The entire Mass Appeal event is really geared for the masses, I don’t turn anyone away.

Tell me about “partnering” with a park. It’s a perfect example of what happens on MMNY day, especially since there are a hundred parks for people to perform in on June 21st. I’m curious to know when partnering with Central Park, and the tunnel near Bethesda Fountain, what about that place adds to your performance?

I like the park. I like nature. I think music and nature go well together. Plus you get more of an audience in the park by the fountain. They can sit there for hours and have lunch and it’s beautiful. The tunnel is great for acoustics. It provides some type of shelter from the wind. Also, the tiles of the tunnel are beautiful.

What’s different about performing outdoors versus indoors?

You have to be more flexible, because you don’t know when the wind will blow or how many bugs will fly into your mouth.

True! What advice do you have for anyone organizing a MMNY event?

Well, you have to manage expectations, be very organized, really nice to everyone who shows up, and try to provide a good experience. It’s a really great opportunity for people to learn to manage people and hone your business skills because you can afford to make mistakes. All experiences are positive, even if they’re not that day — you learn something. I just say show up, smile, and that’s it. Because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s always opened up doors. I like giving back and I think it’s really important. MMNY gives us the opportunity to give back.

To find out more information about joining Mass Appeal Flutes, please go to: http://www.masterclassesnyc.com/masterclassesnyc/Zara.html

Mass Appeal is the quintessential Make Music New York event. Open to anyone who has the instrument to fit the ensemble (which in the past have been organized around flutes, guitars and even bagpipes), scheduled only in the sense that it’s in a place, starts at a time, and then goes. Bring your axe, find room at a stand, and just start playing.

This year, Mass Appeals are available for cellos, guitars, flutes and 15 others (including bagpipes). As the days and weeks bring us closer to June 21, we’ll have features on some of the individual ones. So, it’s best to start practicing.

Last year, MMNY introduced Mass Appeal, a series of June 21st concerts bringing together hundreds of musicians to play pieces written for a single type of instrument.

24 huge ensembles of trombones, cellos, guitars, accordions, megaphones, and more performed outdoors throughout the city, garnering praise from the NY Times, New Yorker, NY Post, NY Daily News, and more. And hundreds of musicians without groups of their own got a chance to take part in the festival, just by showing up to the right place with the right instrument.

Mass Appeal is back for 2010! 17 groups are now confirmed to participate, including:

** Bagpipes (Herald Square, 6:30pm – 8:30pm)
Pipe Major Patrick Duffy leads a massed group of pipers with many common tunes.

** Clarinets (Battery Park, 5pm – 7pm)
Paul Steinfeld‘s clarinet choir performs a mix of pop and classical music for the first hour. Then anyone is invited to bring a clarinet and join in for a few easier pieces.

** Guitars (Union Square, 5pm – 8pm)
Bands from the NYC Guitar School, with massive guitar performances of 7-8 popular songs for everyone to join.

Some Mass Appeal groups plan & rehearse together in the weeks leading up to June 21st; for others, musicians should just show up!

To find out how to join, please email your instrument’s Mass Appeal director for details:

Accordions: Bob Goldberg, banorchestra@earthlink.net
Bagpipes: Pat Duffy, phdnyc@yahoo.com
Cellos: James Jacobs, jdj83061@gmail.com
Circuit benders: Phil Stearns, poppedbubblewrap@gmail.com
Clarinets: Paul Steinfeld, paul.steinfeld@verizon.net
Flutes: Maryann Tu, maryann.tu@gmail.com
French Horns: Mark Taylor, mark@marktaylormusic.net
Gongs: Thomas Kozumplik, tamikaze@gmail.com
Guitars: Genifer Owen, genifer@nycguitarschool.com
Harmonicas: Jia-Yi He, hejiayi@yahoo.com
Megaphones: Avi Wisnia, avi.wisnia@gmail.com
Saxophones: Joel Gombiner, joelhg@gmail.com
Trombones: Kevin McKormack, slidemack@gmail.com
Trumpets: Nick Mauro, nhmjazz@gmail.com
Ukuleles: Rick Bruner, rickbruner@gmail.com
Veenas: Nivedita ShivRaj, niveditashivraj@gmail.com
Violins: Marin Fanjoy-Labrenz, jmf2173@columbia.edu

Over 860 MMNY concerts are now listed on Time Out New York’s new MMNY website.

Take a look!

Each concert listing includes a description of the musicians, and a link to their website. Special sections on Punk Island and Mass Appeal are now online, with more featured listings on the way!

If you’re signed up to come outside and make music on June 21st, please look at the website to make sure you’re listed correctly. If any changes need to be made — or if you expected to see your listing, but don’t — send an email right away to mmny.corrections@gmail.com.

(NOTE: the following locations’ listings will be uploaded to the website on Monday; if you’re involved with one of these events, please check back then — all of Bed-Stuy, Barretto Point Park, Parkchester, E 4th Street Garden, Waterside Plaza, SGI USA, Stuyvesant Sq Park, Union Sq, Divalicious, Hester Street & Mulberry Street, Seward Park, Holy Cross Churchyard, 126 Noel Road, Tompkinsville Park, and Norbert Leesburgh/Clove Lakes Park.)