Capturing the electrifying momentum of a city in motion, Make Music New York 2023 synchronized over the five boroughs with a stunning emphasis on local storytelling and global milestone celebrations. The summer solstice transformed into a giant urban soundscape, highlighted by massive public participatory events, pop-up jam sessions, and official partnerships celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop history right from the city pavements where the genre was born.

2023 Program Highlights Included: A massive, citywide celebration honoring the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop with specialized pop-up showcases and historic block parties in partnership with 300 Entertainment across Harlem and Brooklyn • A grand, participatory outdoor presentation of Mozart’s “Requiem” at the Oculus North Plaza, bringing together hundreds of community vocalists and classical instrumentalists • Mass Appeal jams for Harmonicas and Ukuleles returning to Central Park, allowing hobbyists and virtuosic strangers to harmonize live in the sunshine • The expansion of the public space initiative with the NYC Department of Transportation, activating dozens of Open Streets and public plazas with localized block stages from the Bronx to Staten Island • And the beloved Street Studios, running high-energy interactive sidewalk recording booths that invited passing pedestrians to lay down vocals, beats, and ambient street noise to blend live audio tracks in real-time.

Press: “For Classical Music, Every Summer Is a Liberation,” by Joshua Barone and James Estrin, New York Times, August 18, 2023