As part of the Make Music New York Festival on June 21st, 2024, accordionists of all shapes, sizes, and abilities are encouraged to join this Mass Accordion gathering, where you can participate in a performance of “In C” by Terry Riley, a partially-improvised piece. Led by pro accordionist Melissa Elledge, and presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Accordion Club. 

Make Music New York accordion mass appeal takes place on Friday, June 21, 2024 from 6-8:PM in Prospect Park, Concert Grove (Brooklyn)
Rehearsal (optional but encouraged) Saturday June 1st at 3-5:PM at A4Collective rehearsal space in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

Please fill out this survey to indicate your interest. https://forms.gle/fH1CaaSGaA26Q3jV8

Melissa Elledge is an accordionist based in NYC, and known primarily as a long-time performer in the subways. She began organizing performances for Make Music New York in 2012, and will be putting together an all-accordion production of In C by Terry Riley this year for MMNY, on June 21st. This piece was composed in 1964, and is considered one of the most seminal examples of Minimalism in contemporary American music history.

“In C” is always a great choice for the open-call aspect of MMNY performances, as it’s “open-composed”, meaning it can be played by any number of players, on any instrument, and can be played for half an hour as easily as it can be played for 2 hours! This year, we’ll be shooting for an approximately 1 hour and 15 minute performance of the piece. It is pretty easy to sight-read, however counting is of the utmost importance to create the undulating layers of sound Riley envisioned, which interlace between players and create magical moments of canonic harmony. Players need only to be able to play a steady C 1/8th note beat on the bass side, otherwise the piece is played entirely on the piano side.

Please see attached sheet music and read carefully through the instructions. Players can opt to bring a small stool or play standing. Melissa will be standing to play the whole time so as to loosely conduct and cue the beginning and end.

Players may share music stands. She has plenty of physical copies of the music for anyone who needs them. And don’t worry about having to play continuously for an hour and 15 minutes! Part of the beauty of the piece is that it sounds different every time it’s played and this is partly due to players occasionally dropping out for a minute or two here and there to rest and listen to the others before rejoining.

We look forward to putting this performance together and bringing it to Prospect Park which will hopefully be more convenient for players compared to years past that were mostly in Manhattan. Thank you so much for being part of this truly unique performing experience! Feel free to reach out with any questions!

For further information : brooklynaccordionclub@gmail.com

Brooklyn Accordion Club is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).