Mass Appeal

JJ Byrne Park, 3rd St and Fifth Ave, Brooklyn. In event of rain: The Bellhouse, 179 7th St, btw 2nd and 3rd Aves, Brooklyn. Performance 5pm - 6:30pm, accordion jam until 9pm.

Bob Goldberg premieres his “Neighborhood Suite” for 12 members of the Famous Accordion Orchestra, and creates an “accordion forest” with all available accordions. The Main Squeeze Orchestra conducted by Walter Kuhr then leads a parade with color guards in formation, and a tango session. (Made possible with funding from NYSCA, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council.)

ETG Book Cafe, 208 Bay St, Staten Island. Parade 5:30pm - 6pm, bagpipe jam 6pm - 6:30pm.

Bagpipers from around the city travel along a sidewalk parade route on Bay Street, playing massed tunes such as "Minstrel Boy & Wearing of the Green" and "Grand Old Flag".  The event ends with an unofficial afterparty at Steiney's. Directed by Nick Rozak of the Staten Island Pipes & Drums.

Spring St and 6th Ave, Manhattan. Walking Tour 1pm - 2pm.

Daniel Goode leads participants on a "SoHo Gamelan Walk" aided by a neighborhood map and suggested hand rhythms, to turn the "best" SoHo cast-iron buildings into resonant gong instruments with hand clapping. The piece ends when a select number of buildings have been turned into instruments.

East Meadow, Central Park. In event of rain: St Francis de Sales Parish, 135 E 96th St. Performance 4:30pm - 6pm.

Dozens of cellists create a big, lush sound seeming to grow out of the park itself. Led by James David Jacobs, the group takes part in a structured improvisation based on the instrument's natural overtones, taking cues from ambient sounds. Before and after, cellists perform arrangements of compositions by J.S. Bach.

Astor Place at Cooper Union's Foundation Building. In event of rain: Solas Bar, 232 E 9th St. Open experimentation with toys provided 2pm - 5pm, Performances 4pm - 10pm.

Electronic musicians perform on short-circuited devices such as children's toys, keyboards and drum machines. Creating a world of unpredictable and spontaneous sounds, the program includes an improvised piece by ensemble members and encourages mass experimentation by newcomers. Curated by Javier Lopez-Williams.

Stuyvesant Sq Park, E 15th St and 2nd Ave, Manhattan. In event of rain: St George's Episcopal Church, Rutherford Pl & E 16th St. Performance 3pm - 4:30pm, clarinet jam 4:30pm - 6pm.

A clarinet choir led by Paul Steinfeld performs pieces written by composers ranging from Purcell to Joplin, Rossini to Weill, and Praetorius to Gershwin.

Riverside Park, Enter at 110th and Riverside Drive, Manhattan.  Performance and Jam 11am - 2pm.

An all-flute program ranging from Mozart and Bach to Irish tunes and popular hits, performed by flutists of all ages and levels. Led by Jill Austen, the event highlights two established groups and welcomes everyone for sightreading and meeting other flutists.

Merchants' Gate in Central Park, 59th St and Central Park W. In event of rain: Beneath overhang of Time Warner building, Columbus Circle. Performance and Jam 4pm - 7pm.

The awesome power of this conical bore brass instrument will be multipled many times over by a massed ensemble, with improvisation and new composition by Mark Taylor.

East Meadow in Central Park. Enter at 97th St and 5th Ave, Manhattan. Performance 1pm - 2pm.

Dozens of glockenspiels, as many as possible, will participate in a new performance created by composer Aaron Siegel. Two circles of glockenspiel players will span outward from a central conductor, chiming musical notes across the meadow. Everyone is welcome to join, from professional percussionists, hobbyists, to families with young ones lounging on the grass.

Union Square on the Steps, 14th St between Union Square W and E. Performances and Jams 2pm - 5pm.

Guitarists invade Union Square. Covers of The Beatles' "Hey Jude," Ben King's "Stand By Me," The Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" and other classic rock, folk, and pop masterpieces are performed as one massive strumming entity. With brief sets by local musicians and performing artists who love to play guitar. Rumored to be the largest ensemble of guitarists the world has ever seen. Produced by the NYC Guitar School.

Mineral Springs in Central Park, Enter at 67th and Central Park W. Lessons and Performance 12pm - 3pm.

Mineral Springs becomes the harmonica hotspot for showcasing this easily learned instrument. Anyone is welcome: kids, young people, adults, seniors, and whole families. Bring any type of harmonica, and professional harmonicist Jia-Yi He will soon have you blowing the blues away as part of a massed harmonica band.

Tompkins Square Park, Enter at E 7th St and Ave A, Manhattan. Performance 4:30pm - 7pm.

The group Manhattan Samba brings together all New York Samba Lovers to join in with the band. A short class led by Ivo Araujo teaches newcomers a hand pattern for participating in the live performance.

Union Square on the steps, 14th St between Union Square W and E, Manhattan. Performances 12pm - 1:30pm.

A chorus led by Avi Wisnia convenes to perform arranged and improvised pieces for megaphones in unison. The orchestrated sounds of 20 or more megaphones blend with NYC's traffic, people and ambient noise. Megaphones graciously provided by MegaphoneUSA.

All of Make Music New York takes place outdoors, with one fabulous exception -- The Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Ave, Manhattan. Performances 7:30pm and 8:30pm.

Out of your wildest dreams, 80 trombones, organ, and sopranino take over the ramps of the Guggenheim Museum for a New York premiere of composer Henry Brant's piece "Orbits." Henry Brant was a pioneer of acoustic spatial music, often employing instrumental groups of a single timbre. Audiences gather in the rotunda below, with conductor Neely Bruce and a large contingent of the trombone community above. Co-presented by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.

Block Party on Cornelia St (at Bleecker), Manhattan. Performance 4pm - 6pm, Open performance setting 7pm - 9pm.

The Piano Block Party centers around the U.S. premiere of "Canto Ostinato" by Dutch minimalist composer Simeon ten Holt, performed on pianos placed outdoors on Cornelia Street. The event also allows pianists from around the city to solo or collaborate together on the pianos, in an open performance setting, led by Jed Distler and Celia Cooke of Composer's Collaborative.

Tompkins Square Park, btw E 9th and E 10th St on Ave B, Manhattan. In event of rain: Beneath overhang of Life Cafe, 11th St and Ave B. Performance 12pm - 1pm, Saxophone Jam 1pm - 4pm.

Free jazz saxophonist Ras Moshe leads an all-saxophone group across the street from Charlie “Bird” Parker's old apartment on Avenue B. In a tribute to the legendary saxophonist, every musician will play a different Charlie Parker piece, all at once, free style. The program also includes a composition by Moshe titled “Word to Bird,” to be followed by an improv session by the group.

Rashid Music Sales, 155 Court St, Brooklyn. Sing-along starting 1:00pm, live performances to follow.

Fans of Umm Kulthum, larger-than-life Egyptian singer who held sway for decades in the Arab music world, gather to sing along to favorites from Kulthum's repertoire of over 200 songs. Directed by MMNY Queens Director Sami Shumays, and hosted by NYC's only all-Arabic music store, Rashid Sales.

Stuyvesant Square Park, E 15th St and 2nd Ave, Manhattan. Performance and Jam 12pm - 3pm.

Trombones combine, highlighting the versatility of the brass instrument.  Program includes a new arrangement of "One Note Samba," old favorites and jam sessions, led by Kevin McCormack.

Richard Tucker Square, 66th and Broadway, Manhattan. Performances and Ukulele Jams 12pm - 3pm.

Calling all ukulele players for the biggest uke-only jam of the year.  Themed program including sessions titled "Elvis Tribute," "Hawaiian Hula Jam," "All Uke Need is Love Beatles Jam," and "Yes, Uke Can Play Jazz," led by a group of uke-extraordinaire teachers under the direction of Greg Gattuso.

Straus Park, 106th and Broadway, Manhattan. Performance 3:30pm - 4:30pm, Waterphone Jam 4:30pm - 5pm.

Percussion group Loop 2.4.3 premieres a composition for waterphone ensemble, followed by experimentation. This recent addition to the instrument family, waterphones are metal bowls rimmed with protuding rods, filled partway with water for resonant vibrations. Thomas Kozumplik and Lorne Watson direct the ensemble.

Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd, Queens. Performance 2pm - 3pm

Nivedita ShivRaj leads 5 to 7 veena players in traditional and contemporary pieces for 60 minutes. The veena is an ancient multi-stringed instrument from South India, with a complex construction including seven strings and twenty-one metallic frets. Hosted by Flushing Town Hall.

Riverside Park, Enter at 110th and Riverside Drive, Manhattan. Performance 6:30pm.

'X' being the number of violinists, this collaborative piece directed by Alicia Jo Rabins uses improvisation and text to explore the love affair between women and their violins. Violinists who are women (defined in the broadest sense) perform within a largely unstructured patchwork of solos, singing, and spoken word.