Our Story

Its first appearance in New York came in 1989, when Martin Segal’s New York International Festival of the Arts organized a “Fête de la Musique” with 187 concerts, in honor of the bicentennial of the French Revolution. There were occasional June 21st concerts presented by the Alliance Française in the following years, but the event as a festival was absent from New York City until a dedicated stateside team of music fans brought it to life in 2007. This is the festival format we continue to embrace and present for the 20th iteration in 2026.

Having experienced the Fête de la Musique in Paris in 2006, Aaron Friedman was inspired to create a comparable event in New York. Alongside founding board members Robert Singerman & Steven Swartz, and with support from Citizens Committee for NYC, Mr. Friedman brought together a group of volunteers and organized the first “Make Music New York,” with free concerts throughout the five boroughs. The name came from the event’s French slogan, “Faites de la musique!” (“Make music!”).