Make Music Day, the worldwide festival of making music held annually on the winter solstice has announced the inaugural Make Music Day South Africa event.

In 2023 the Musikhane Community Music Engagement Programme at the North-West University School of Music is coordinating Make Music Day South Africa.

This day is completely different from a traditional music festival, Make Music Day activities are free and open to anyone wanting to participate. Reimagining their cities and towns as stages, every kind of musician – young and old, amateur, and professional, of every musical persuasion – fills streets, parks, plazas, porches, rooftops, gardens, and other public spaces to celebrate, create and share their music with friends, neighbours, and strangers.

Some of the exciting initiatives being planned include at 12-hour music marathon by Jeppe Girls High School and a Kazzoo-off in the Potchefstroom Bult area.

According to dr.  Janelize Morelli, Diploma in Music Programme Leader at the NWU Potchefstroom Campus, various members of the Brass ensemble will be doing instrument demonstrations at schools in and around Potchefstroom on Make Music Day.

“We are trying to encourage people who have some connection to music to either sign up as artists or as venues or to list their existing events,” she added.

Launched in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day has become a global phenomenon, celebrated by hundreds of millions of people in more than 1,000 cities around the world, including 120 cities in the U.S., where it has spread quickly after debuting in New York in 2007. Held on the longest day of the year, the world’s largest annual music event celebrates and promotes the natural music maker in everyone, regardless of age or skill level.

For more information regarding Make Music Day in Potchefstroom, contact dr. Morelli at janelize.morelli@nwu.ac.za or 018 285 2663.