As I've mentioned in previous newsletters, music was a big part of my life growing up. My sister and I both played the piano, and we loved musicals. Our favorite books were collections of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Disney music. Sometimes we played duets, with one of us playing the treble clef and the other playing the bass. Here is a photo of the cover of the well-loved and well-worn Disney book that is still on my bookshelf. Notice the $2.00 price on the lower left! That gives you an idea of how old this book is. I just checked eBay and found several "vintage" copies selling for $18.00 to $69.69.

Last month, I bought a ticket online for a local piano concert. On the page where you fill in your personal information, the site had filled in the fields with sample text in a light font to indicate what type of information went in each box. The name field said “Harold Hill.” Hmm . . . that name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember who he was. The address fields said “76 Trombones Street” and “River City, Iowa.” Aha! It suddenly all made sense. Harold Hill is the main character in “The Music Man” musical, and “Seventy-Six Trombones” is its best-known song. And, in the song “Ya Got Trouble,” Harold sings, “trouble right here in River City,” so I remembered where it all took place. I thought this was all so clever. This was the first time that filling out my personal information online made me smile. 😊

The songs "Goodnight, My Someone" and "The Wells Fargo Wagon" from "The Music Man" are in my Favorites from the 50s book, which is part of this month's sale. Unfortunately, the song "76 Trombones" would have required numerous quick lever changes, so I didn't include it in the book. You'll find lots of Broadway and movie music in the sale section below. I hope you have fun playing these fun songs!

-- Sylvia

I recently found out about an amazing annual musical event that is celebrated world-wide on the June 21st Summer Solstice: Make Music Day. I'm letting you know about it now, so you'll have time to prepare to participate.



Here's information from the MakeMusicDay.org website about this unique day.

Make Music Day (or just “Make Music”) is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st, the summer solstice. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Thousands of amateur musicians play in public spaces, often for their first time. Professional musicians perform for new audiences, who come out from under their headphones to hear unfamiliar groups risk-free. And everyone is invited to sing along and enjoy the first day of summer. Today, Make Music is observed on the same day in more than 2,000 cities around the world. It is the world’s largest annual music event.

How did it start?

It all started 43 years ago in France.

In 1982, Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday. They imagined a day where free music would be everywhere, all around each city: street corners, parks, rooftops, gardens, and store fronts.

And, unlike a typical music festival, anyone and everyone would be invited to join and play music, or host performances. The event would take place on the summer solstice, June 21, and would be called Fête de la Musique. (In French, the name means both “festival of music” and “make music”.)

Amazingly enough, this dream has come true. The Fête has turned into a true national holiday: the country shuts down on the summer solstice and musicians take over. Almost 11% of French people (7 million people) have played an instrument or sung in public for the Fête de la Musique, and 64% of the country (43 million people) comes out each year to listen.

Four decades later, the holiday has spread throughout the world and is now celebrated in more than 2,000 cities across dozens of countries.

How did it come to the U.S.?

Eighteen years ago, the Fête de la Musique crossed the Atlantic with the debut of Make Music New York.

Starting as a grassroots initiative by a team of volunteers, the event quickly became a critical and popular success. Today, thousands of New York musicians – amateurs and professionals, of all ages and musical persuasions – perform in hundreds of free, outdoor concerts each June 21, earning praise for their “inspiring” (New York Times) and “thrilling” (New Yorker) performances.

In recent years, cities across the country have launched their own Make Music celebrations on June 21, making this musical holiday a truly national phenomenon.

On June 21, 2024, 141 U.S. cities organized 5,304 free concerts, with over 100 each in Aberdeen WA, Chattanooga TN, Fairfield CT, Fullerton CA, Kansas City MO, Madison WI, New York NY, Salem OR, and Southeastern CT . . . all on a single day.

You can learn how to participate in the festivities, find your local chapter, or start your own chapter on the MakeMusicDay.org website.

Let's get out there and bring harp music to the world!

All photos are used by permission from the MakeMusicDay.org website.

The 2016 band photo shown above from New York is by Brad Barket.

The harp illustration by Steven Guarnaccia from the MakeMusicDay.org website is used by permission from the artist.

2016 Boston, Massachusetts

photo by Adam DeTour

2021 Chattanooga, Tennessee

photo by Ricardo Change

2016 New York, NY

photo by Kris Connor

As you may recall from numerous previous newsletters, my sister Sheryl lives in Paris, France. I asked her to tell us about her experiences with the Fête de la Musique. Here's her response.

On the evening of the Fête de la Musique, musicians really do "take over" here in France. They are everywhere in Paris. Sometimes it’s a single guitarist or saxophonist on a street corner, or a group of four or five filling up the sidewalk or in a park, sometimes a local ensemble in a church, and it can even be the Paris Philharmonic in a major auditorium. But unfortunately, I've yet to come across a harper or harpist.

Some are extemporaneous performances, others are organized by an association or the cultural department of City Hall. Rap, blues, jazz, pop, gospel, or classical – the styles (and quality of the performances) are endless, and the music is always free. Because my house sits on a hill overlooking a big park, I don’t even have to leave home; there are always several groups that play for half an hour or so in the park.

In the twenty years I’ve been singing with a Renaissance ensemble associated with the Sorbonne University, we have given three full concerts for the Fête de la Musique. One was in the American house in the International Student Housing complex; one in a church; and one in 2006 at the Sorbonne with the Minister of Culture in attendance. My husband, Jean-Pierre, took this photo at the 2006 concert. I'm the blonde in the center of the front row.

When the sun sets in Paris at two minutes to ten on June 21st, what a fantastic evening of music we will have had! I hope you can join us.



-- Sheryl

Bring Him Home

from Les Miserables

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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Castle on a Cloud

from Les Miserables

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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The Wizard of Oz

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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Andrew Lloyd Webber

including music from Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and more

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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Favorites from the 50s

including music from The Music Man, The Sound of Music, and The King and I

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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22 Romantic Songs

including music from

Fiddler on the Roof and

A Little Night Music

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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A Thousand Years

from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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My Heart Will Go On

from Titanic

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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Happy

from Despicable Me 2

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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76 Disney Songs

including songs from Disney movies and TV shows

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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How Does a Moment Last Forever

from Beauty and the Beast

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Sheet

15% off with Broadway code

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Groovy Songs of the 60s

including

Aquarius from Hair

arranged by Sylvia Woods

PDF or Book

15% off with Broadway code

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15% off select sale items when you use the code word Broadway

Our newsletter promo codes are redeemable online and are only valid for the products listed above in the monthly sale section. They are not valid for phone or email orders. This month's code word is Broadway.

Here's how to get your newsletter discount at harpcenter.com:

#1. Put the items you want to purchase in your cart.

#2. On the page where you view the items in your cart, type this month's code word Broadway in the "Enter Promo Code" box and click "Apply."

The actual price of the featured sale products on this page will then automatically change to reflect the discount. For example,

   Unit Price: $9.95 (the original price)

   Total Price: $8.46 (the discounted price)

You'll also see a note below the Promo Code box saying the name of the promo code you entered and the percentage amount of the discount.

REMEMBER: You must enter this month's code word Broadway in the Promo Code box and click "Apply" on your shopping cart page by May 31, 2025, to get the discount!

If you forget, or if you have trouble adding it to your order, email Sylvia immediately.  

This offer expires at the end of the day on 5/31/2025.

Sylvia Woods Harp Center

Lihue, Hawaii