Mass Appeal is back for a fifth year, giving New Yorkers without groups of their own a chance to take part in the music-making, by bringing together hundreds of musicians to play pieces written for single types of instruments. From the rusty cellist to the professional toy piano player, all are welcome to join these epic events, all taking place outdoors on Friday, June 21st.

This year, don’t miss our special projects for:

• Guitars
• Harmonicas
• Keyboards
• Voice: Mass Appeal Mass

Mass Appeal is made possible in part with public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities, supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Central Park: West Dalehead Arch (near W. 64th and CPW)
7:00 – 9:00pm

For the second year in a row, NYC-based accordionist Melissa Elledge will lead an all-accordion performance of “In C” (1964) by Terry Riley. This seminal minimalist work is comprised of 53 short melodic patterns, or cells, played in sequence. Individual players have the freedom to choose how many times to repeat each cell, resulting in spontaneous moments of unison and haunting counterpoint. This year’s setting, under a stone arch in Central Park, should make for a particularly epic acoustic experience!

How to Join: To sign up, and for a link to the sheet music and performance instructions, please email [masked].

Flatiron Building Plaza, Broadway and E. 23rd St
6:30 – 8:30pm

Brooklyn-based cellist Shayne Lebron will lead participants in this years Mass Cello Appeal, performing works of J.S. Bach, and other pieces as popularized by the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals. There will also be an improvisatory piece where participants help create a composition in real-time. Cellists of all ages and skills should be able to participate easily!

How to Join: Bring your own cello, music stand, and any clips or clothespins to fasten the music to your stand. All music will be provided. Open rehearsal from 6:30-7:00pm, performance from 7:00-8:00 pm. Any questions or comments, email Shayne at [masked].

CultureFix, 9 Clinton Street (Lower East Side)
12:00 – 2:00pm

Hans Tammen’s Third Eye Make Music NY Orchestra uses Earle Brown’s open form composition idea as a starting point to create a large multi-movement piece, performed by an ensemble of circuit bent instrument, noise maker and smartphone performers. Players need to be on time at noon to get ready for the performance. See the concept here: http://tammen.org/third-eye-laptop-orchestra/

How to Join: To join, contact Hans Tammen for more details and to register (we need to know how many people will show up!): [masked].

Carroll Park, Court St and Carroll St, Brooklyn
6:00 – 7:00pm

The Make Music New York Clarinet Choir is excited to be participating for a fifth year! We are comprised of freelance musicians, conservatory students/graduates, and music teachers, all of whom love to get together and play. We will be performing works by Dvorak, Grundman, Mozart, Ravel, and Lady Gaga, among several other composers.

How to Join: We will play first, and then other clarinetists are invited to sight read some simple pieces with us at the end of the concert. Come to listen or play, for there is no better way to celebrate the first day of summer than through music!

Bleecker Playground, Bleecker and W. 11th St
5:00 – 7:00pm

Calling all double reed players! This year the oboes, bassoons and English horns of the metropolitan area will be performing repertoire from cultures around the world. Join us as Yue Cheng the principal oboist of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra shares his expertise on music of his homeland, arranged for double reed ensemble. As always, we will conclude our program with Handel’s “Royal Fireworks”, an incredible piece you won’t want to miss!

How to Join: No rehearsal necessary! Just bring your horn and a music stand and contact Kaitlyn Walker for scores: [masked]

Central Park: Wollman Rink Terrace (near 6th Ave and 59th St)
4:00-6:00pm

A two-hour performance venue just for flutists, all ages and skills welcome. Lead by Mary-Ann Tu, founder of Masterclasses NYC, and Valerie Holmes from the Kaufman Special Music School. Sighreading and prepared performances are on the agenda. Mass Appeal Flutes is a great way to meet fellow flurtists, talk shop, make new friends, relax outside and enjoy making music together.

How to Join: All ages and ability levels welcome! Just bring your flutes (high and low!), along with a music stand, and binder clips so your music doesn’t fly away! For more information visit masterclassesnyc.com or contact Mary-Ann Tu at [masked].

Throughout all five boroughs of New York City
Meet up at W. 42nd and 7th Ave (Manhattan) at 12:58pm, and at the High Line at 21st St. at 8:31pm

John Cage’s 1977 Ode to New York City invites anyone and everyone to share what they hear at 147 sites throughout the five boroughs. Avant Media envisions 49Waltzes.com as an ongoing city-wide installation highlighting the 147 chance-determined addresses. On June 21, we will attempt to document sounds at all 147 addresses, and we need your help! Anyone with a smartphone, audio recorder, or camera can take part by visiting a site, uploading a field recording, and sharing the link with us. We will be updating the site live throughout the day giving a worldwide audience a glimpse into the city on the summer solstice.

How to Join: Anyone and everyone is welcome to take part: Explorers, Field Recorders, Listeners, Musicians, Non-musicians, and Video Artists. This piece by John Cage encourages exploration and as-is documentation. Sites can be documented throughout the day, and there will be two large group meetups to celebrate the day and make multi-angle recordings: first at 42nd and 7th at 12:58 PM (Solar Noon) the second all along the west side of Manhattan and Staten Island as the sun sets on the longest day of the year. Visit http://49waltzes.com/mmny to find a waltz address and sign up to waltz with us on June 21.

South Street Seaport, Fulton St and Water St
7:00 – 8:30pm

The French Horn Nation is an amicable aggregation of conical bore brass instruments that will delight with dulcet tones and mellifluous melodies! Translation? A whole bunch of French Horn players in one place at one time! We’ll perform all kinds of Horn-centric music from classical to jazz to something we wrote the night before. All horn players are welcome!

How to Join: Bring your horn and a music stand. Contact Marshall Sealy at [masked] with questions about preparing for the music program.

Herald Square, Broadway and W. 34th St
6:00 – 7:30pm

Gongs have been used for communication, processions, religious ceremonies, and musical performances since ancient times. Composer/performers Thomas Kozumplik and Lorne Watson will organize this improvisatory performance, providing a John Cage-like set of instructions to the participants. Carroll Music’s vast collection of gongs from around the world, ranging from 6″ to 60″, will be the orchestration. The New York percussion duo Loop 2.4.3 and guest professionals will perform alongside the uninitiated.

How to Join: For more information and to sign up, contact Paul at [masked], or call[masked]-5243. Participants will be provided with instruments, strikers, and instructions. Musical training is not required, just musical curiosity, sensitivity, and team spirit.

Instruments and other support for this project generously provided by Carroll Musical Instrument Rentals, and Brooklyn-based record label Music Starts From Silence.

Union Square (South Plaza)
4:00 – 7:00pm

Guitar World Magazine and NYC Guitar School host this free, live, EPIC ensemble of guitarists open to players of all ages, styles, and skill-levels.

Festivities begin at 4:00pm in Union Square with practice sessions, and booths by Mass Appeal Guitars sponsors including Guitar World Magazine, Guitar Center, and D’Addario, plus live music by local rock band The Spanish Channel at 4:45pm.

The play-along jam at 6:00pm will be accompanied by Mark Feldman of Bang The Drum School and our song leaders include Mark Stewart (Guitar Mash), MilitiA (Judas Priestess), Rob Davidson (VH1 Save The Music), Laura Whitmore (Guitar World / Founder of Women’s International Music Network), Paul Riario (Guitar World gear editor), and NYC Guitar School directors.

Bring your guitar and play and sing along! We are sending an invitation to the world at large to come and play guitar with us. Tell your sister, tell your brother, tell your cousin, tell your granny! Again, EVERYBODY’s invited no matter age, creed, style or skill-level.

Songs will include “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” (The Beatles), “Dog Days Are Over” (Florence + The Machine), “Free Falling” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), “Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revivial), “Hey Ho” (The Lumineers), “Gimme Three Steps” (Lynyrd Skynyrd), and “Living After Midnight” (Judas Priest).

How to Join: Visit the event MeetUp page to sign up for a free practice session, and to view the songs list and leaders, download the song chart PDFs, and view the YouTube video tutorials. Or just show up with your guitar for the 4pm practice sessions.

Central Park: Strangers Gate, W. 106th and Central Park West
6:00 – 7:30pm

This year, Hohner is donating free harmonicas to Make Music organizers across the country for a national day of harmonica playing on June 21st! Make Music Portland (Maine) will distribute harmonicas in Monument Square; Make Music Los Angeles will partner with the LA Unified School District for harmonica lessons; Make Music Denver and Make Music Madison are inviting their mayors to take lessons; Make Music Chicago will bring out the harmonicas for their grand finale.

Here in New York, harmonica virtuoso Jia-Yi He once again welcomes kids, teenagers, adults, seniors and whole families for a free harmonica lesson in Central Park. A mini introductory seminar will teach you to quickly read music and to play by ear: sheet music indicating hole numbers will be ready for newcomers. In just 40 minutes you’ll be able to play simple melodies. If you are already a confirmed harmonica player, we have more pieces to be performed in groups: please join us as well!

How to Join: The first 100 participants will receive a FREE HARMONICA, courtesy of Hohner! Please email [masked] and let him know you’re coming, or suggest a few pieces to be added to the program!

Cathedral of St. John the Divine (at Peace Fountain), 1047 Amsterdam Ave at W. 111th Street
5:30 – 6:30pm

Back for a second year, Grand Harps will appear this year at the Peace Fountain of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Pedal harpists are invited to stay on and join in the following performance with Mass Appeal Mass of the Faure Requiem and Faure Cantique de Jean Racine at the same location.

How to Join: Lever and pedal harps welcome! All music will be available from Alyssa Reit after June 1st. Email [masked] to sign up. A short rehearsal will take place from 4:00-5:15. Bring your own stand, bench & tuning key. Please tune to A 440 in advance. Some seating is available on the concrete benches around the fountain.

DUMBO ConEd Farragut Substation (Plymouth St. b/w Gold St. & Bridge St.), Brooklyn
7:30 – 9:00pm

For the second year, participants will gather near the ConEd Farragut Substation in DUMBO to join in a large group hum-a-long. We will use the transformers of the ConEd power station as a drone to create a vibrating, meditative environment while the sun sets over the East River. The event necessitates no musical knowledge, just the ability to hum or sing! A score by John P. Hastings (HUM 7 8 9) will be included for those who have some musical training and would like to extend the sound of the drone.

How to Join: Just show up! All ages welcome!

Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village (near W. 4th St and Sixth Ave)
11:00am – 2:00pm

On June 21st, Yamaha will donate 175 keyboards for the world premiere of “Broken Record,” a composition by Jed Distler for 175 battery-powered PSR-E243 keyboards and Grand Piano on Cornelia Street in the West Village. This outdoor block party performance will set a new Guinness Book record for the world’s largest keyboard ensemble!

Performers will include piano luminaries – among them Stephen Gosling, Taka Kigawa, Lisa Moore, Simon Mulligan, Isabelle O’Connell, Eleonor Sandresky, and Kathy Supove – teachers, students, music lovers, and city officials.

Following the performance, Yamaha will donate the instruments to the New York City Department of Education to establish keyboard labs in nineteen public schools.

This event is produced in collaboration with ComposersCollaborative Inc, Peppergreen Media, the Cornelia Street Cafe, and Yamaha.

How to Join: Come make musical history! The 30-minute piece will be performed twice, in the late morning and early afternoon. The music is extremely easy to perform and coordinate, and there are even parts for those without any keyboard skills! Click here to register, watch this video for an introduction to the piece, or email Pierre at [masked] with any questions.Top

Theodore Roosevelt Park, Columbus Ave and W. 81st St
6:30 – 7:30pm

The New York Mandolin Orchestra (established in 1924) leads the second annual Mandolin Mass Appeal. Our group features Mandolins, Mandolas, and Mandocellos, rounded out with support from flute, guitar, cello, and even a concertina! We will be playing a diverse program including compositions by Lennon/McCartney, Leroy Anderson, Bach, and Duke Ellington. The event will be led by Jeffrey Ellenberger, the conductor of the New York Mandolin Orchestra.

How to Join: Musicians of all ages and levels are welcome to join! Please contact Spencer Katzman or visit http://www.nymandolin.org for information about attending one of our weekly rehearsals.

Straus Park, Broadway and W. 107th
7:00 – 8:00pm

After an extremely successful Recorder event last year with 35 participants Mass Appeal Recorders is back again this summer! Lead by noted recorder performer, teacher, and conductor Deborah Booth, the recorder ensemble session welcomes soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders to Strauss Park as part of Make Music New York again this June. The music performed included A. Holborne, G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach, as well as “Sunny Side of the Street” (McHugh, Fields).

How to Join: All recorder players who want to register (non-beginners) are welcome. Performers may bring all sizes of recorders (sopranino through contrabass) or they may concentrate on one instrument if they wish. The repertoire will include a selection of pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary eras.

Little Red Square, Bleecker and 6th Avenue
6:00 – 7:00pm

Calling All Saxophonists! Come join the Tonehole Saxophone Brigade! Co-led by Jessica Lurie (The Tiptons Sax Quartet) and Stefan Zeniuk (Gato Loco), we are looking for saxophonists of all horns and levels to join this Mass Appeal. We have almost 40 players signed up already and need another 60 to reach our goal – 100 saxophones! We will be joined by great NYC horn players such Ras Moshe, Calire Dailey, members from RMO, the Tiptons, the Himalayas, and Zion80 Big Band. The performance will premiere several original pieces composed and arranged especially for this event by Stefan Zeniuk, Jessica Lurie, Norbert Stachel & more, touching on avant-garde free jazz, structured improvisations, micro-big band, gospel, whimsical jazz and nocturnal funk.

How to Join: Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome! We will have charts available to check out online, closer to the event. Please bring a music stand and clothespins (for the wind) if you can, and contact Jessica Lurie at [masked] to be involved.

Sakura Park, Riverside Drive and W. 122nd St
3:00 – 4:00pm

Alexa Dexa debuts her composition “Spottings on Safari,” composed for any even number of toy pianos and tape. Inspired by the chance operations and indeterminacy of the works of John Cage, Spottings on Safari is created with the intention of providing children and adults with the opportunity to perform together while opening their horizons to the available composition techniques and performance choices outside the conventional parameters of concert music.

How to Join: Toy pianists of all ages are encouraged to participate. For more information, contact Alexa at [masked].

Sheridan Playground, Wythe Ave. and Grand St, Williamsburg Brooklyn
5:00 – 8:00pm

Come join the Ukulele Mass Appeal and discover why the humble uke is making a big comeback as the ultimate People’s Instrument. Sing-along from 5-6pm, followed by performances from 6-8pm by NYC’s rich trove of ukulele all-stars.

How to Join: Bring a uke or just a love of good music and good cheer.

Worth Square, Broadway and W. 25th St
6:00 – 8:00pm

This year marks the third annual Mass Viola event, led by Sharon Bohen Riley. Participants over the last two years have had a wonderful time playing classical music as well as some country fiddle tunes written for viola! All levels of players are welcome. Details of the program will be provided as we get closer to the date.

How to Join: If you are interested in joining, if you have suggestions, or would like to help with the organization please contact Sharon: [masked].

Cathedral of St. John the Divine (at Peace Fountain), 1047 Amsterdam Ave at W. 111th Street
7:30 – 8:00pm

Anyone’s Story is a 20-minute mass singing event by Paul Pinto. Singers sing in four-part harmony but everyone makes up their own lyrics, creating a chorale of individual stories, rants, questions, answers, and opinions. All ages are invited. No experience or rehearsal is required.

How to Join: Just bring your portable music player (smart phone, iPod, mp3 player), headphones and sunglasses. Download your sing-along track at http://www.pfpinto.com/anyone and sign up by emailing [masked].

Cathedral of St. John the Divine (at Peace Fountain), 1047 Amsterdam Ave at W. 111th Street
6:30 – 7:30pm

How to Join: Singers of all kinds are invited to join! The only requirement is to show up, with music in hand and joy in heart. Download Sheet Music (ZIP file, 3.3MB)