(E) La Fete de La Musique, also known as World Music Day, is taking place today on June 21st, the summer solstice – the longest day of the year! On this day, streets, sidewalks, parks, gardens, stores, museums, castles and much more become impromptu musical stages in particular for amateur musicians to showcase their unique talents. This is a big popular and free demonstration opened to everyone.

La Fete de La Musique mixes all kinds of music and addresses all kinds of public. It aims to popularize the musical practice and to familiarize the younger and the less young ones of all social conditions to all musical expressions. It is more than even the occasion for music to talk to us creatively and freely.

The amateur musicians are invited to produce themselves voluntarily. But over the years, La Fete de La Musique has reached the larger professional musical institutions such as orchestras, operas or choirs and has challenged them to expand their repertoires to other musical dimensions.

La Fete de La Musique offers the opportunity to improve the social relationships so much needed in our today lives by proposing some concerts in the city downtowns and their suburbs, in the hospitals or in the prisons.

Launched in France, in 1982, by Culture Minister Jacques Lang, La Fete de La Musique has become a European and Worldwide Tradition, presents today in more than 100 countries on five continents, every June 21st.

New York City held its first festival in 2007.

Sunday, June 21st, 2009 was the first celebration of the event in Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, called Palo Alto World Music Day, on University Avenue, King Plaza (City Hall), and the surrounding streets.

Today June 21st, 2015 is the sixth celebration of the event in Palo Alto from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Click here for the downloadable program. And, have fun discovering and listening to our local musicians.

Note: The picture above is from Palo Alto World Music Day in June 2013.

Copyright © 2005-2015 by Serge-Paul Carrasco. All rights reserved.
Contact Us: asvinsider at gmail dot com.