If anything can transcend the barriers that separate us, be
it economics, race, culture, or even neighborhoods, Community Design Center Interim
Director Maria Furgiuele believes it is music. With
help from the Make Music Alliance, Bernunzio Uptown
Music co-owner Julie Schnepf, and other committee
members, Furgiuele is introducing to Rochester Make
Music Day, a worldwide musical celebration of the summer solstice.

Rochester will join more than 750 cities around the world
that participate in the festival on Wednesday, June 21, with free music
performances, events, and lessons at locations around the city.

The event originated in France as a pop-up music festival, Feฬ‚te de la Musique
(“festival of music”), which began in 1982 as a celebration to honor the
longest day of the year. The country takes the day off to unite in their shared
love of music, creating beats on the corners of streets, balconies and front
lawns, rooftops, and storefronts. The idea was that anyone could play any music
anywhere with anything, and that’s exactly what Furgiuele
is envisioning for Rochester.

“The primary goal is to create an event with universal appeal
and that is as inclusive as possible, that people of all ages and all skill
levels can participate in,” Furgiuele says.

The Community Design Center is a local organization that
strives to improve communities by educating and advocating for quality
environmental and neighborhood design. Part of the work the CDC does includes
community development and inclusion.

Furgiuele says that she stumbled
upon the French festival by sheer luck in 1987, but not realizing it was an
annual event, never gave it a second thought. When she began searching for
community programming ideas for the CDC, she learned that Make Music Day became
a global event years ago. She knew it would be a good
opportunity to get people out of their homes and into the city, interacting
with others at specific venues, on the sidewalk, or in their own yards.

The hope is that a majority of the music being played around
the city will be organic and spontaneous; however, there are also performances,
classes, and jam circles scheduled from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Record Archive Owner Dick Storms will be hosting a harmonica
class at his store (33 โ…“ Rockwood Street) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The first
25 participants will receive a free Hohner harmonica,
courtesy of Bernunzio, and the store will have extra
harmonicas for sale. People are also encouraged to bring their own. Storms will
teach participants how to play “Oh Susanna,” the first song he learned to play
on a harmonica when he was a boy.

“I want people to walk away understanding that it’s fun to
play harmonica,” Storms says. “If we can get everybody to the first few bars,
they will have enough knowledge to keep playing. I want people to have the
satisfaction of picking up a simple, small instrument they can keep in their
pocket and play anytime.”

Singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist Dan van Leeuwen is one of many performers scheduled to play during
the day. The 21-year old has been playing guitar since he was 13, but only
recently began performing in venues like Boulder Coffee and Lovin’
Cup. Van Leeuwen will perform three, hour-long sets:
at Bernunzio’s (122 East Avenue) at noon, Hart’s (10
Winthrop Street) at 1 p.m., and Tower280 (280 E. Broad Street) at 2 p.m.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully connecting with people,
singing songs they haven’t heard in awhile that take
them back,” van Leeuwen says. “Maybe it was a song
their father or grandfather used to sing to them.”

For a complete schedule and info about how to participate as a performer or by providing a venue, visit makemusicroc.org.

This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2017.