Music on June 21 can come from anyone, anywhere, and anything – even flowerpots.
Flowerpot Music, written by celebrated composer Elliot Cole and directed by percussionist Peter Ferry, is a composition for an unlikely but beautiful percussion instrument – the flowerpot! Last year on June 21st, 16 groups around the U.S. assembled in parks, fields and public squares, to learn and then perform the piece, specially composed for Make Music Day.
Flowerpot Music returns in 2026! Join a group and create outdoor soundscapes through easy-to-learn games, appropriate for musicians and non-musicians alike.
Register your Flowerpot Music event below and request mallets. If you need help planning your event or finding a suitable leader, email julia@makemusicday.org.
Mallets for Flowerpot Music generously donated by:
Flowerpot Music on Sunday, June 21, 2026
Albemarle, NC
led by Tiffany Harwood
152 W Main Street
Time: 1pm – 4pm
Contact: stanlyartsguild19@gmail.com
Bolivar, TN
led by Dylan Hill
Bolivar Farmer’s Market
110 Lafayette Street
Time: 2pm – 6pm
Contact: dhill.cityofbolivar@gmail.com
Chicago, IL
led by Victor Marin
Welles Park
2333 W Sunnyside Ave
Time: 11am – 12pm
Contact: mvvargas71@gmail.com
Chatham, NY
led by Matt Gold
Gazebo on the village green
2 Depot Square
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Contact: mikerosenthal@gmail.com
Chimacum, WA
led by Victoria Reddick
Finnriver Farm & Cidery
124 Center Rd
Time: 2pm – 2:45pm
Contact: songwritingworks@gmail.com
Fairlawn, NJ
led by Sandra Guevara
Berdan Park
Berdan Ave
Time: 10am – 10:30am
Contact: flartassociation@gmail.com
Friendswood, TX
led by Dru Watkins
Friendswood Library
416 S Friendswood Dr
Time: 1pm – 2:30pm
Contact: friendswood@makemusicday.org
Houston, TX
led by Loop38
Midtown Park Plaza
902 McGowen St
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Contact: craighauschildt@loop38.org
Knoxville, TN
led by Abby Fisher
Charles Krutch Park
504 Market St
Time: 10am – 11:30am
Contact: adally@niefnorf.org
Laredo, TX
led by Carlos Saucedo, Jr.
Casa Ortiz 905 Zaragoza
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Contact: 4taypiano@gmail.com
Muskogee, OK
led by Lauri Henderson
Honor Heights Park
1400 Honor Heights Dr.
Time: 10am – 10:30am
Contact: makemusicmuskogee@gmail.com
Oakboro, NC
led by Kurt Varney
Stanly Arts Guild
152 West Main St
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Contact: stanlycounty@makemusicday.org
Phoenix, AZ
led by Lilly Gonzalez
Arizona Center
455 N 3rd St
Time: 12pm – 3pm
Contact: lilly@rosieshouse.org
Phoenix, AZ
led by Lilly Gonzalez
Rosie’s House
919 E Jefferson St
Time: 10:15am – 11am
Contact: lilly@rosieshouse.org
Worcester, MA
led by Chris Michelotti
Honor Heights Park
1400 Honor Heights Dr.
Time: 10am – 2:00pm
Contact: orourkeml@worcesterma.gov
Make Music Day Flowerpot Music: Gallery
Elliot Cole, Composer
Elliot Cole is a composer and “charismatic contemporary bard” (New York Times) whose music “evokes sparkling icicles of sound” (Rolling Stone). He has performed his music with Grammy winners Roomful of Teeth, Grammy nominees A Far Cry and Metropolis Ensemble, as well as Alkemie Early Music Ensemble, Projeto Arcomusical, the Lucerne Festival Academy, and as a member of the book-club-band Oracle Hysterical. His percussion music has been performed by over 250 percussion ensembles all over the world. He is on faculty at The New School and Juilliard Evening Division, and also runs a music school for incarcerated men at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY.
Peter Ferry, Artistic Director
Acclaimed as “the ingenious percussionist Peter Ferry,” (Chicago Sun-Times), Peter Ferry is a young American percussion soloist re-imagining classical performances around the world through contemporary repertoire projects and innovative artistic collaborations. Ferry has been a guest artist at dozens of universities as well as the Zeltsman Marimba Festival in New Brunswick, NJ, and has stepped in as a guest percussionist with acclaimed ensembles Alarm Will Sound, Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, and Eighth Blackbird. With Alarm Will Sound, Ferry serves as the Assistant Director of Artistic Planning, envisioning and managing the artistic activities of one of the world’s leading contemporary music ensembles.