There’s music in the streets of St. Louis on Tuesday. Well, more music than usual.
More than 40 performers in more than 15 locations will take part in Make Music Day — an international attempt to inspire joy in communities through public performance.
“We want this to become a St. Louis holiday. A new St. Louis cultural tradition on a yearly basis. We want people to look forward to this day all year!” said Make Music Day St. Louis founder Nika Leoni.
Leoni and Kathy Favazza co-founded St. Louis’ first official version of the event this year. The event was founded in 1982 in France and has grown to include more than 700 cities throughout the world. The founders say St. Louis performers are as young as 13 years old and participating musicians play jazz, indie rock, folk and choral music.
According to Favazza, the event is supposed to inspire questions about public space usage and heighten cultural appreciation for viewers.
“What does it mean for performers to donate their time, and venues to donate their spaces, and for any random person, even a beginner musician to come out on a street corner and just play?” she said.
The founders began organizing the event in February. During that time they also launched Make Music Pianos which has placed 5 donated pianos at various locations throughout the city. Leoni and Favazza hope to grow both Make Music St. Louis and Make Music Pianos in the coming years.
A schedule of performance locations and performance roster is available online.
