On Make Music Day, 21 June 4.33pm (UK Time), Beyond Skin, John Cage Trust and Make Music Day UK with musicians from around the world premiered a special collaboration performance video of the John Cage piece 4’33”. Mexico, Poland, England, China, Scotland, Portugal, Northern ireland, South Africa, Colombia, Wales, Rajasthan, Costa Rica, Singapore, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, USA, Kenya, Japan, Zambia, Brazil, Germany, Isle of Man.
4’33” is a three-movement composition by American experimental composer John Cage (1912–1992). It was composed in 1952, for any instrument or combination of instruments, and the score instructs performers not to play their instruments during the entire duration of the piece throughout the three movements. The piece consists of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, although it is commonly perceived as “four minutes thirty-three seconds of silence”. The title of the piece refers to the total length in minutes and seconds of a given performance.
“This has been an idea that has gone way beyond what we expected. The video footage coming in is spectacular, some groups and musicians have been able to travel to beautiful and iconic places to film. Visually it is stunning, and you can feel the environment of each place. The starting point of Gary Coey’s video representing Northern Ireland is simply a recording of him in his front room. We were going to film again on a scenic location but then we thought there is something move powerful and moving that an idea with a musician in their own house can trigger a global movement.” Darren Ferguson, Beyond Skin
Complimenting the 4’33” collaborative video is a theme of loss.
John Cage was influenced by Zen Buddhism and 4’33” was intended to also be a moment of reflection and mindfulness. Due to the CoVid pandemic the world has experienced loss. Not just in lives but also our loss of touch, connecting with each other and the natural world, our loss of our personal spaces as they became workplaces, and our loss of trade and business.
Belfast is currently biding for UNESCO City of Music Status. This project is a perfect example of the innovative, aspirational and influencing character of Belfast and indeed Northern Ireland as a vibrant diverse & creative music beacon on the global landscape.
The final production will be released on 21st June 4.33pm (UK Time) as part of a Make Music Day online broadcast and will also be available on YouTube and Facebook.
The project has been grant a special synchronicity licence through the Edition Peters Group in association with John Cage Trust as 4 ‘33” like any other professional composition has intellectual property rights.
Additional support towards the project has come from Belfast Music (Belfast City Council), Arts Council Northern Ireland, Edition Peters Group, and British Council.
Make Music Day
Music Day began in France 1982 (Fête de la Musique). Over the years the idea spread globaly with the 21st June recognised internationally as Music Day
Make Music Day first came to the UK in 2012 and the number of gigs taking place has been growing year on year. 2017 was the first UK-wide coordinated event with support and funding from national organisations resulting in 147 performances. In 2020, there were 1,739 performances live and online.
Beyond Skin Make Music Day Webpage
Northern Ireland
Gary Coey (Teacher Glengormley High School)
www.instagram.com/glengormleyhigh
https://twitter.com/GHSPrefect?ref_src=twsrctfw
www.facebook.com/glengormleyhigh/
Portugal
Setúbal Youth Ensemble
Associação Festival de Música de Setúbal
Rita Dogot, Sara Gramaço, Alexandre Sousa, Andreas Coster, Gonçalo Baião, Gonçalo Carrega, Martim da Silva, Tomás Silva, Miguel Rangel, Ana Marques, Luís Piçarra, Rita Cavaco, Beatriz Afonso, Constança Pereira, Joana Poupinha, Leonor Carrega, Maria Madalena, Mariana Pais, Matilde Abreu.
http://www.festivalmusicadesetubal.com.pt/en/youth-ensemble
https://www.facebook.com/festivalmusicasetubal
Poland
Sylwia Szewczyk
Wales
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
(Guitar and Percussion department)
www.rwcmd.ac.uk
www.instagram.com/rwcmd
www.facebook.com/rwcmd
https://twitter.com/RWCMD
South Africa
Sbonelo Mlita
www.facebook.com/sbonelo.mlita
Mexico
Make Music Day Mexico Team
Marco A. Guzman R.V. Rodolfo San Roman Judith Arellano
Musicians and Dancers ONKA YOLOTL Company
Shane Daniel EsparzaMarko Mazatl Teo, Ignacio Giovanni Llorente, Miriam Paola Hernandez, Dante Izcoatl Nieves, Salvador Nieves Morales, Ivan Camacho Ramos, Alejandro Manuel Oropeza,
Director of Filming
Jorge García Alonso
Roberto Gutiérrez Carreón
Production Manager
https://www.facebook.com/onkayolotlmx
Rajasthan
DHOAD Gypsies of Rajasthan
Rahis Bharti
www.dhoad.com
www.facebook.com/DhoadGypsiesOfRajasthan
Sri Lanka
Nuwan Gunawardhana
www.facebook.com/ngunawardhana Logistcis Shalini Wickramasuriya. Videography Amal Lakshan Chandrasiri.
Isle of Man
Isle of Man Wind Orchestra
https://iomwo.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/IOMWO
Singapore
Stanley Ang
www.facebook.com/angkw
Zambia
Opennet 40
Blessings Mwamba (Bhule Arts Centre), Sylvia Chisanga Luo (University of Zambia), Memory Mayuya (Zambia National Dance Troupe)
Logistics – Chali Mulenga, Pamela Kapekele
Cameraman – Heartwell Hamilimo
https://www.facebook.com/OpenNet4.0Zambia
China
Minjie Ding (Qinghan Hutong Academy of Traditional Chinese Studies)
Afghanistan
Fusion Ensemble of Afghanistan National Institute of Music
Amanullah Noori, Ali Sina Hotak, Rohullah Satanikzai, Roheed Barna, Shogufa Khan, Anita Alimi, Yosof Nazari, Yasar Mohammadi.
Directed by Dr Ahmad Sarmast
www.anim-music.org
https://twitter.com/OfficialANIM
www.facebook.com/AfghanistanNationalInstituteofMusic
www.facebook.com/ahmad.sarmast
Germany
Witch 'n' Monk (Mauricio Velasierra and Heidi Heidelberg)
www.witchnmonk.com
https://witchnmonk.bandcamp.com
https://instagram.com/witchnmonk
www.facebook.com/witchnmonk
England
City of London Sinfonia at Southwark Cathedral
Curated by Alison Porter (Make Music Day UK)
www.cityoflondonsinfonia.co.uk
www.facebook.com/cityoflondonsinfonia
https://instagram.com/cityoflondonsinfonia
http://twitter.com/CityLdnSinfonia
Kenya
Liboi (Sharon Liboi & Evans Mutanduki)
Curated by Smart talk Café (Robbin Nyakundi & Andanti Moris)
www.facebook.com/sharonliboi
www.facebook.com/SmartTalkCafe254
Japan
Akiko Tazawa
Colombia
Mr. Klaje
www.facebook.com/mrklaje.pagina
www.instagram.com/mrklaje
Scotland
Suzanne Briggs
(Filmed in Shetland Islands
Curated by Ruta Vitkauskaite (CoMA Glasgow)
www.coma.org
www.facebook.com/ComaGlasgow
www.twitter.com/coma_glasgow
www.instagram.com/coma_glasgow
USA
Timothy Topalian (aka Lucky T)
www.luckytmusic.com
www.facebook.com/LuckyTmusic
https://twitter.com/luckytmusic
www.instagram.com/luckytmusic
Costa Rica
Dan Freeman
www.danfreeman.com
www.istagram.com/dan_freeman_music
Brazil
Davi Cardim Santos
