Edinburgh Libraries are taking part in a global music festival on Friday 21 June 2019 to celebrate the longest day of the year.
Make Music Day is a free celebration of music around the world taking place on the same day each year featuring musicians of all ages, genres and abilities. It’s the world’s biggest festival of free music events taking place in venues and public spaces both indoor and outdoor.
This year for the first time Edinburgh Central Library hosts an exciting and diverse programme of community music events. Kicking off at 11.45am in Central Lending Library and 12 noon in the Music Library Mezzanine, library users and visitors will be entertained with a programme of music running throughout the afternoon until 4.30pm.
The Rolling Hills Chorus – Edinburgh’s premier male a capella chorus – open the programme on the Mezzanine at 12 noon. Described as one of the highest quality and most entertaining in Scotland and UK barbershop this act is sure to set the toes tapping.
Other highlights include the Kleyne Klezmer Trio performing in Central Lending at 2.00pm featuring Andrew Gardiner on clarinet, Simon Carlyle on tuba, and Jan Waterfield on accordion: there is sure to be a lot of noise to rouse the readers from their usually peaceful browsing.
We’re not forgetting Scotland’s fantastic musical traditions either with performers from Sangstream closing our programme on the Mezzanine at 3.45pm. Sangstream is a Scots folk choir singing traditional and modern Scots folk songs unaccompanied.
It’s not just Central! Other libraries around the city are joining in with the fun with Stockbridge starting the day at 11am with The Professors of Logic, who will be performing an acoustic set of original songs in a variety of genres, including Country, Blues, Cajun and Jazz, the songs tend to have a humorous bent. The band features guitar, fiddle, accordion and sax (maybe) and vocals. Other acts performing later include Elspeth McVeigh, Nothing At All and Aria Alba.
Craigmillar has a fun-filled day planned with a Rock ‘n’ Roll Baby Musical Rhyme Time event starting at 10.30am and then two special ‘Craigmillar’s Got Talent’ shows on in both the morning and afternoon featuring pupils from Castleview and Niddrie Mill primary schools (am) and local musicians (pm).
Morningside is also getting in on the music fun with The Southside Scratchband entertaining the public from 11am to 12 noon.
The aim of the day’s programme is to provide opportunities for all to enjoy a range a music and to bring various community musicians together for the day. All performers are providing their services at no charge and there is no fee to the public to attend.
And you can also expect some surprises throughout the day! So draw up a chair, relax and enjoy. You can view the full list of events at https://makemusicday.co.uk/events/
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