The world has endured a tragic year. Millions have died from COVID-19, and social, cultural, and economic life has been curtailed everywhere.
With vaccinations accelerating, life in many places is on the road back to normal. But before life can feel truly normal, we must memorialize the devastation of the past year. Our response is an initiative called This Moment In Time.
Working with musicians and cultural partners around the world, massive gongs appeared in public spaces on June 21, the summer solstice. At noon local time, a musician played the gong for one uninterrupted hour, marking the incalculable loss of the past year. Along with being free and open to a live audience, many of these performances were livestreamed.
Afterwards, in many locations the public was invited to come up to each gong and play it themselves, hearing the unfathomable mystery of the sound, experiencing the cathartic feeling of hitting something massive, and feeling the deep therapeutic vibrations in their bodies.
Around the world, gongs traditionally mark a moment in time – whether announcing Napoleon’s funeral procession, the arrival of a Chinese dignitary, the start of a sumo wrestling contest, or the serving of dinner in a British mansion. For everyone joining or witnessing this event on June 21, 2021, This Moment In Time marks the losses of the pandemic, but also the beginning of a new era in sight.
Footage from This Moment in Time 2021
This Moment In Time: June 21, 2021 at 12:00pm* (Local Time)
*unless otherwise noted
Participating Countries: Argentina | Canada | Germany | Italy | South Africa | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | UAE | Ukraine | USA
Argentina | |
La Plata Location: Private studio in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina Streaming at 11:00am New York time Percussionist and vibraphonist Pablo Rivas plays gongs with a loop pedal from his studio in a livestreamed event. | |
Canada | |
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Location: Legacy Park Bandshell, 10005 102 St, Fort Saskatchewan, AB T8L 2C5, Canada The Fort Saskatchewan Community Band with special guest Brian Jones, principal percussionist with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, will be playing a concert featuring the gong as part of This Moment in Time, a worldwide musical movement to commemorate those who have succumbed during the Covid pandemic. Brian will play Tribute to the Victims, which he composed for this event, involving over 35 gongs and three percussionists. Following this, the Fort Saskatchewan band will play a selection of pieces that feature a gong. The concert will be held at the Legacy Park Bandshell in Fort Saskatchewan at 7:00pm on June 21. | |
Germany | |
Potsdam Location: Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 34, 14482 Potsdam Streaming at 6:00am New York time Ulrike Oehmichen and Julia Zimmermann will open this year’s Fête de la Musique in Potsdam with a 15-minute long gong ringing for This Moment in Time, followed by a short concert by Canadian musician Adam Wendler. The gong is being provided by the new Indian restaurant Masala Rasoi, and the event will take place outside the restaurant. | |
Italy | |
Selinunte, Sicily Location: Selinunte Archaeological Park Via Selinunte, 91022 Caselvetrano TP, Italy At sunset, Sergio Calì, percussion teacher at the Arturo Toscanini Conservatory in Ribera (Agrigento), will play the gong to mark This Moment in Time, symbolically opening the 27th edition of Italy’s Festa della musica. The performance will be followed by 20 musician/composers, from each of Italy’s 20 regions, who will premiere new songs that recount personal memories from the past pandemic year and the prospect of return to a normal life. | |
South Africa | |
Durban Location: Durban Botanic Gardens, 9A John Zikhali Rd, Berea, Durban, 4001, South Africa Youth dance group UBuhle beTheku will present a Zulu prayer song and dance with a cowhide drum (pictured), in memory of the lives lost to the pandemic. | |
Durban Location: Rosehill Primary School, 225 Buttery Rd, Umgeni Park, Durban North, 4051, South Africa At noon local time, the Rosehill Primary School in Durban will participate in This Moment in Time with their students. The event will include the ringing of the school bell by each child in memory of the lives lost, a moment of silence, and a prayer song. | |
Sweden | |
Varberg Location: BEAS GongYoga, Järngatan 2, Varberg, Sweden Streaming at 6:00am New York time Gong healer Beatrice Nilsson brings This Moment In Time to the west coast of Sweden, from her studio in Varberg. | |
Switzerland | |
Les Monts-De-Corsier Location: La Chapelle de Monts de Corsier, Route de Châtel-Saint-Denis, 1808 Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland Streaming at 6:00am New York time Percussionists Paula Chico Martinez, Youri Rosset, and Aurélien Perdreau present This Moment In Time in front of an historic church in the hilly countryside near Vevey. | |
Turkey | |
Istanbul Location: Caddebostan, Park İçi Yolu, 34728 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Turkey Streaming at 5:00am New York time Sound healer Cenk Güçbilmez leads This Moment in Time at a seaside park, in one of Turkey’s first-ever events celebrating Make Music Day. | |
UAE | |
Dubai Location: The Zen House in Umm Suqeim (location details provided upon confirmed RSVP) Join us for a unique Summer Solstice on Monday, June 21 when we – along with gong players all over the world – take part in the annual Make Music Day celebration to share the beauty and majesty of our big gong and gorgeous Himalayan singing bowls with the public! At our evening Summer Solstice Sound Experience, you are invited to strike the bowls and gongs — feeling the deeply resonant vibrations that you have just created. Afterwards, gong master SoundMirror and sound therapist Alena Skrabina will create a soundscape in which you can take a journey with these sacred instruments. Click here to RSVP. | |
Ukraine | |
Lviv Location: Rotunda in Ivan Franko Park, Solomii Krushel’nyts’koi St, 11-13, Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 79000 Streaming at 5:00am New York time Percussionists Vladimir Veretelnik, Vladimir Sarakhman and Vsevolod Sadovyj will present This Moment In Time with several gongs in the oldest city park in the country. This will symbolically open the 9th Fete de la Musique Lviv. More details here. | |
United States | |
Appleton, WI Location: The History Museum at the Castle, 330 E College Ave, Appleton, WI 54911 Percussionist Jonathan Leahy will lead This Moment in Time, in partnership with Heid Music as part of Make Music Appleton. | |
Ashland, OR Location: Thalden Pavilion, The Farm at SOU, 155 Walker Ave, Ashland, OR 97520 The Oregon Center for the Arts and The Farm at Southern Oregon University present a new piece by genre-crossing percussionist Terry Longshore, inspired by this year’s Make Music Day initiative. Terry Longshore says of the event: “When I first read about This Moment In Time, I was inspired to compose an hour-long musical work for large, amplified gong, titled This Moment In Time after the event. The piece will explore the incredible sonic range of a 40” Zildjian Hand-Hammered Gong, from delicate soft textures using finger, contrabass bows, and superball mallets, to explosive crescendos that will make your hair stand on end!” More details here. | |
Auburn, CA Location: Plaza at Lincoln Way and High Street, Auburn, CA 95603 Streaming at 8:30pm New York time Performers Eric Chun from Creative Music Services and Ryan Goodpaster from the Auburn Symphony Orchestra bring out a collection of 15-20 gongs to the middle of Auburn for a This Moment In Time observance starting at 5:30pm PT. | |
Boston, MA Location: Shattuck Picnic Grove, Franklin Park, Boston MA 02124 Streaming at 12:00pm New York time Matthew Carey and Wesley Fowler (Fen Percussion) lead This Moment in Time in Dorchester’s Franklin Park, in a grove outside the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. This performance is supported by Zildjian. | |
Chicago, IL Location: Cancer Survivors’ Garden, Maggie Daley Park, 337 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601 Chicago’s This Moment In Time will be hosted at the Cancer Survivors’ Garden in Maggie Daley Park (part of Millennium Park), which contains a wrought iron pavilion with six windows. In each window, Sound Magic (John Yost, Jitka Yost, Scott Mosak and Eric Swanson) will hang six gongs that they will play: one 5.5″ gong drum, one 40″ wind gong, one 30″ chau, and three 38″ Paiste gongs. | |
Elgin, IL Location: DuPage Court, Elgin, IL 60120 Percussionist Joe Beribak will bring This Moment In Time to a courtyard right at the center of Elgin, IL. | |
Fairfield, CT Location: Sherman Town Green, 1452 Post Road, Fairfield CT 06824 Fairfield CT’s Make Music Day kicks off at the town center’s gazebo, with two GRAMMY-award winning musicians ringing the gong for This Moment In Time. Chris Frantz, author of bestselling memoir Remain in Love and Tina Weymouth both of Talking Heads will be on hand to strike the exquisite gongs borrowed from local yoga center, Yoga for Everybody, beginning at noon. | |
Houston, TX Location: Japanese Garden at Hermann Park, 6001 Fannin St, Houston TX 77030 Streaming at 1:00pm New York time Susan Hernandez of Gongsia Sacred Sound Sessions brings This Moment in Time to Houston’s central park in a pop-up event, creating harmonic sounds of the universe to restore and maintain peace and balance on Earth. | |
Indianapolis, IL Location: Richard G. Lugar Plaza, 200 E Washington St Indianapolis, IN 46204 Percussionist Corey Denham partners with the Percussive Arts Society‘s Rhythm! Discovery Center for This Moment in Time at Indianapolis’s pivotal downtown park. | |
Interlochen, MI Location: Interlochen Center for the Arts, 4000 M-137, Interlochen, MI 49643 Acclaimed percussionist Doug Perkins leads a This Moment In Time gong experience with students from Interlochen’s summer music program. | |
Knoxville, TN Location: Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920 A This Moment In Time gong meditation, led by Nief-Norf, will kick off a percussion parade at 6:00 PM through the trails of the Ijams Nature Center, at the inaugural Make Music Knoxville. This event is supported by the Music Performance Trust Fund. | |
Lincoln, NE Location: Gongs Unlimited, Lincoln, NE 68507 Streaming at 1:00pm New York time Gongs Unlimited, “the World’s Happiest Gong Sellers,” presents a gong meditation livestream from their Lincoln NE shop for This Moment In Time. | |
Los Angeles, CA Location: Angels Gate Park, 3601 S Gaffey St, San Pedro, CA 90731 Percussionists and educators Dave Gerhart and Damion Frigillana observe This Moment In Time near the Korean Bell of Friendship, one of the largest bells in the world, and a monument to friendship between Korea and the United States. This event is supported by the Music Performance Trust Fund. | |
Madison, WI Location: Under the E Washington Ave overpass at the Yahara River, Madison WI Three gong players in Madison — Andy Hanson, Neil Sisauyhoat, and Michael Winter — join forces on This Moment in Time, playing in the resonant space under the East Washington overpass. | |
Milledgeville, GA Location: Georgia College, Front Campus, 231 W Hancock St, Milledgeville, GA 31061 Streaming at 12:00pm New York time Nathaniel Gworek, percussion faculty member at Georgia College, assembles a group of players with gongs spread out around the Front Campus to mark This Moment In Time. | |
Moorhead, MN Location: Minnesota State University Moorhead Campus Mall, 1104 7th Ave. South, Moorhead, MN 56563 Streaming at 1:00pm New York time Professor of Percussion Kenyon Williams will use Javanese gongs and tam-tams for This Moment In Time in the MSU Moorhead campus mall. | |
Nashville, TN Location: Church Street Park, 600 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37219 Percussionist Connor McDonald leads This Moment in Time in a central, downtown park, starting at 2:00 PM. | |
New York, NY Location: Upper Square along the East River, Seaport, 19 Fulton Street NY, New York 10038 For one uninterrupted hour beginning at 12 noon, Ryan Sawyer and the percussion ensemble Talujon will perform new works on multiple gongs along the water at the Seaport District to mark the losses of the past year. | |
Platteville, WI Location: The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums, 405 E Main St, Platteville, WI 53818 Music teacher and Make Music Platteville founder Nancy Fairchild brings a gong outside of the Mining Museum to lead This Moment In Time. | |
Portland, OR Location: Council Crest Park, 1120 SW Council Crest Dr, Portland, OR 97239 Streaming at 3:00pm New York time From the highest point in Portland, singer and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Cohen will lead a community gong event where people come together to play his homemade and found object gongs, along with any gongs that participants can bring, to create a wonderful wall of sound. | |
San Francisco, CA Location: Stone Stage at Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission St. between 3rd and 4th Sts., San Francisco, CA 94103 Marin Symphony percussionist Ward Spangler brings his gongs to the Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco to mark This Moment in Time with a sound bath experience. This performance is co-presented with the Marin Symphony, with special thanks to the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. This event is supported by the Music Performance Trust Fund. | |
Seattle, WA Location: The Quad, University of Washington, Pierce Ln, Seattle, WA 98195 Percussionist and composer Aaron Michael Butler performs Harold Budd’s “Lirio” with a large 36″ Chau gong, on the Quad at the University of Washington. | |
West Chester, OH Location: Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 6329 Tylersville Rd. West Chester OH 45069 Streaming at 12:00pm New York time David Mackey leads This Moment in Time with a 28″ Paiste symphonic gong at an outdoor sanctuary on the grounds of Lord of Life Lutheran Church. |