The 3rd annual Miller MAKE MUSIC Festival: this year at York College!

Join the YMTA, Matinee Music Club and other community partners to celebrate all things MUSIC! Start your new year off on a high note by saving SATURDAY, JANUARY 4th 2025 as a day to MAKE MUSIC – come, play with us! Students of all levels can register to take closed adjudications* and discipline-specific theory exams, and EVERYONE can enjoy the wide array of drop-in music and music-adjacent FREE events and recitals! This year’s host is York College of Pennsylvania, so no matter the temperature or weather, the show will go on… inside the beautiful Wolf Hall Music, Art & Communication building.

*HONORS students who would like to be considered for performance on HONORS recitals on January 4th are invited to PRE-audition (and take your theory test) this year December 19-21 at York College.

CHECK IN at the REGISTRATION DESK
WHEN: All day beginning at 8:15 am
WHERE: Lobby of Wolf Hall, York College of Pennsylvania
WHAT: Stop in and pick up your building map and events listing and find out where and when all of the day’s activities are happening! Check-in for your audition (pre-registration is required: deadline December 1st , 2024 – visit www.yorkmusicteachers.org for details)

PICK-ME-UP SNACKS WILL BE AVAILABLE ALL DAY!

YMTA Student Audition and Theory Testing Information
SUSAN MILLER FESTIVAL AUDITIONS
WHO: Students and contracted adjudicators and accompanists
WHEN: All day (8:30 am – 6:30 pm) by appointment (pre-registration required)
WHERE: Wolf Hall, York College of Pennsylvania (classrooms, studios, and rehearsal halls by appointment)
WHAT: Students who have pre-registered will play a closed (elementary) audition for an adjudicator who will
rate their performances.

FESTIVAL THEORY TESTING
WHO: Students, members of the YMTA and music educator friends
WHEN: All day 9 am – 5 pm, drop-in (pre-registration required)
WHERE: Lecture space at Wolf Hall (likely 4th floor)
WHAT: all YMTA auditioning students should take a level-specific PMTA theory test. For HONORS candidates,
the test must be Level 3 or above, and must be passed with an 80% or higher during the “pre-audition” phase
in December in order to qualify for the HONORS recitals on January 4th.

Scheduled special events and recitals:

ART GALLERY POP-UPS
WHO: Brass, Choir, Strings, Keyboard…and more!
WHEN: 10 am – 3 pm
WHERE: The Art Gallery in Wolf Hall (immediately to your left upon entering the building)
WHAT: MUSIC ALL DAY LONG – share the spirit of the festival through performance! Students, teachers, and
community performers including the YJSO Octet, Dallastown String Ensemble, and a YSO Quartet will be
scheduled for sets throughout the day.

FREE MUSIC EXCHANGE
WHEN: All day, walk-in (10 am – 3 pm)
WHERE: throughout Wolf Hall – see if you can find ALL the locations!
WHAT: Pick up (or feel free to drop off!) donated music books, both repertoire and pedagogical volumes – if it’s
on the table, it’s free to a good home (and you can drop off anything you’ve outgrown or want to trade).
Especially welcome are pedagogical materials that families can trade to one another as students step into and
step up their music studies

STUDIO EXPERIENCE
WHO: Member of the YMG (York Music Group) and Peter Bottros & Friends (TBD)
WHEN: 10 am – 3 pm (ongoing all day, with brief breaks for staff)
WHERE: In the award-winning recording studio at York College
WHAT: Students can learn about and (under supervision) learn how to use electronic music production tools:
Come find out what the Music Industry has to offer!

INSTRUMENT PETTING ZOO
WHO: Thomas Klimek and Menchey Music
WHEN: drop in all day to try instruments 10 am – 3 pm
WHERE: Classroom space in Wolf Hall (likely 3rd floor)
WHAT: An interactive, hands-on opportunity to see, touch, hold, play, and hear advanced performers play the
instruments of the orchestra.

KINDERMUSIK SAMPLER with WINDHAM MUSIC STUDIOS
WHO: Sarah Heckert and friends
WHEN: 10 am – 1 pm, sessions beginning on the hour (last approx. 20-30 minutes)
WHERE: classroom space at Wolf Hall, likely 3rd floor
WHAT: Young music lovers can step right up to engage with sound and have FUN with music through this
accessible, entertaining experience designed for young musicians (toddlers and preschoolers welcome) and
parents! Led by certified Kindermusik educator Sarah Heckert of Windham Music Studios
(windhammusicstudios.com).

THE BLUES BAND
WHO: Max Halterman, Bill Druck, Myles Druck, Randy Yoder and friends
WHEN: All day 10 am- 3 pm, drop-in at will
WHERE: Classroom space in Wolf Hall (likely basement or 3rd floor)
WHAT: a drop-in opportunity to learn the Blues scale, play a simple progression, and do a 12-bar blues improv
experiment – we encourage auditioning students to do this to loosen up (!) and we guarantee that there are
no-experience-needed chances to play along (percussion, perhaps? Or try that Blues scale – you can do it!)

AS I SEE – AND HEAR – IT: ART THROUGH MUSIC
WHO: Elizabeth Gawron, Painter and Educator
WHEN: 11 am – 3 pm – drop in to make art, music ongoing
WHERE: an art classroom on the 3rd or 4th floor in Wolf Hall
WHAT: Experience immersive art by watching Elizabeth paint – or taking up a brush yourself! – while music is
performed. How do you hear – and SEE – music? Come find out at this unique interdisciplinary experience!

JUNK BAND WITH JEFF
WHO: Jeff Stabley and friends
WHEN: 10 am- 2 pm, sessions start on the hour (approx. 20-30 mins)
WHERE: in a classroom at Wolf Hall
WHAT: Rhythm grooves for all with “junk” instruments (buckets, chopsticks, pie pans, etc.) – Jeff will run
sessions that are drop-in, no-experience-required and participants will learn several rhythmic patterns that can
be combined to form intricate African-inspired rhythmic “grooves”

CLASSICAL MUSIC OF NORTH INDIA: An introduction to ragas and rhythms and SITAR SAMPLER
WHO: Jan Protopapas, John Protopapas and friends
WHEN: Sessions on the hour at 11am, 12, and 1 pm with Sitar Sampler mini-concerts in between
WHERE: In a quiet classroom (TBD) in Wolf Hall and possibly in the stairwell (!) too
WHAT: Take 30 minutes with ethnomusicologist Jan Protopapas to “go deep” in a mini-workshop on Indian
classical vocal music with tambura and harmonium. Learn a simple melody in an Indian raga accompanied by
a cyclical rhythm and experience new sounds as Jan leads small groups through exploratory activities.

JUNIOR PODCAST INTERVIEWS
WHO: Morgann Davis & Kirstin Myers
WHEN: 10am – 3 pm, drop-in for 5-minute interviews (may need to wait depending on how busy it is)
WHERE: In the TV Production Studios at Wolf Hall
WHAT: Based on Kirstin Myers’ and Morgann Davis’ podcast “Life Between the Notes”, student musicians are
invited to be interviewed about the role that music plays in their life. These short sessions will be collected,
curated, and shown on the YMTA website to help promote future music activities in York involving community
students

KEYBOARD CORRAL: HANDS-ON HARPSICHORD and PIANO ANATOMY 101
WHO: Joan Peffer, Gretchen Dekker, and Mabel tang
WHEN: Drop in all day between 11 am- 3 pm, informal performances
WHERE: Classroom in Wolf Hall at York College
WHAT: See, touch, learn about, and play a clavichord and a (digital) harpsichord. Learn why a harpsichord isn’t a piano, and try a short piece on YOUR instrument – with harpsichord accompaniment! Periodic period-accurate performances of our signature festival pieces may just…break out, so come ready to jump in and
play!
Did you ever wonder how the piano makes sound? What are all those PARTS you can see in there – what do they do? Let expert registered piano technician and tuner Mabel Tang take you on a journey INSIDE the piano to see how things are really put together! Check out the hammers, dampers, and pedals, and try your hand at tuning (or un-tuning) a piano string. Learn how the music is made in the GRANDEST of instruments, and then help us to DECORATE our donated instrument…

CHIME-O-RAMA
WHO: TBD
WHEN: 11am – 3 pm, drop-in fun as well as guided learning sessions on the hour (not between 1-2 pm)
WHERE: A hallway at York College’s Wolf Hall – come find us!
WHAT: Two octaves of BOOM WHACKERS and Malmark hand chimes will be set up for anyone to step in and try their hand – drop-in sessions will run about 15 minutes, and all that is required is a sense of adventure, the ability to distinguish colors, and a sense of humor about just how tricky it can be to have only ONE note to play…

FLUTE FACTORY: JUST FLUTING A-ROUND (TBD)
WHO: Alicia Kosack TBD
WHEN: 11am-3pm, drop-in all day, guided sessions at :15 and :45 (decorating is ongoing at will)
WHERE: In an art studio at Wolf Hall TBD
WHAT: Come learn about flutes and whistles at the flute factory with Alicia Kosack and friends! Participants will get to choose their own colorful whistle and can personalize their instrument at our craft table, then learn some simple tunes and play a round with their new festival friends. Try out a “regular” flute, and decorate your own Penny Whistle to take home with you as a souvenir…

OPERA ADVENTURE
WHO: Leah Crowne and Keystone Opera and friends
WHEN: 11am – 2:30pm on the hour (approx.. 20-minute session)
WHERE: TBD, likely the Piano Lab (Wolf 100)
WHAT: Embark on a whimsical journey: the Keystone Opera invites you to dive into the enchantment of opera for yourself! Join us for an interactive workshop where both young and old can don costumes, explore the magic of melodies, and learn the timeless secrets of opera from local opera virtuosos. It’s not just a performance; it’s a hands-on experience!

WINTER WONDERLAND PIANO (TBD)
WHO: Anyone who wants to play!
WHEN: Drop-in all-day
WHERE: on the sidewalk in front of Wolf Hall
WHAT: Come and play the piano outside (!) in January – last summer’s National MAKE MUSIC Day snow-white grand piano will be placed outside (seriously), decorated and ready for YOU to MAKE MUSIC! Bring your hand warmers and let the music warm your heart and soul (you could play THAT old chestnut, too…)

And Potentially More!