The power of music lies at the core of HARMAN’s foundation and the uniqueness of its business – a point that is reinforced each year around Make Music Day. In the past, HARMAN scheduled a number of in-person events to celebrate the positive impact of music on people’s lives, including Street Studios, pop-up events and concerts, in addition to initiatives with HARMAN Inspired partners such as GRAMMY® Music Education Coalition and Make Music Alliance to help inspire budding musicians’ education. This was a one-of-a-kind year for our Make Music Day plans as HARMAN adapted its festivities for a fully online presence as all in-person events were put on hold due to social distancing and lockdown measures resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic. This didn’t stop us from having a global musical celebration. HARMAN continued celebrations for Make Music Day through virtual events such as HARMAN’s Come Together video, Audio Matters’ special Make Music Day themed episode, and activities in regions like Brazil and India.
Audio Matters: “Make Music Day” Origins
Getting into the Make Music Day spirit, HARMAN’s weekly podcast dedicated to delivering in-depth expertise on a variety of audio related topics, Audio Matters, hosted a special celebratory episode with special guests from a pair of our HARMAN Inspired non-profit partners – Make Music Alliance and GRAMMY® Music Education Coalition. Globally renowned audio expert and contributor to leading publications like Forbes and BBC, our host Oisin Lunny, sat down with special guests Dr. Lee Whitmore, Executive Director of GRAMMY® Music Education Coalition, and Aaron Friedman, President of Make Music Alliance, to talk about the origins of Make Music Day and how people around the world join in the festivities. Check out the special episode here.
United in Making Music
HARMAN musicians also ‘came together’ to help celebrate music for the unifying force it continues to be for many of us. Make Music Day is an important day at HARMAN and we’re so proud of these musicians who answered the call. Relying on streaming platforms to record, combine, and mix their performances from their various homes and studios, the musicians recorded their separate parts via a backing track and created a truly inspiring rendition of ‘Come Together’ by the Beatles, all socially distanced, and never missing a beat. Listen to their performance on HARMAN’s YouTube page.
Behind the Music with Steve Vai Q&A
As part of our yearly Make Music Day celebrations, HARMAN connects with one of our amazing HARMAN Ambassadors or friends of HARMAN. In these interviews, we learn more about their musical background and how our audio products enhance their craft. For Make Music Day 2020, we had a chat with Steve Vai, winner of three Grammy Awards, guitarist, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer. He discussed his professional journey and offered some advice for aspiring musicians. Learn more about Steve and his career in HARMAN’s blog post.
HARMAN’s Global Activations
Our teams from across the world took part in the socially distanced celebrations for Make Music Day. At HARMAN, music has long been a globally connective force bringing together our workforces from all corners of the world to share in the joy that music offers us. This year in India, our HARMAN teams showcased their amazing talent and love for music by singing and playing various instruments. We would like to thank all participating HARMAN India colleagues and their families for contributing for this event. The mash-up video can be found here – see for yourself on HARMAN India’s LinkedIn page.
In Brazil, our HARMAN teams were in full swing as they joined in the Make Music Day festivities from their own homes. A few of our Engineering team members recorded a socially distanced rendition of ‘O Sol Já Se Acordou’ showcasing the talent behind our products. HARMAN Brazil also held a live streamed talk on Healthy Music, a learning session with health experts about the care and detail audio professionals must employ to carry out their activities safely. We’re grateful to all the gracious team members who took time out to join in on the celebration, sending videos of their performances all over Brazil. Check out HARMAN Brazil’s Facebook page for more highlights from this year’s Make Music Day.
HARMAN’s Make Music Day celebrations looked a little different this year, but we were still committed to spreading awareness about the importance of music education and celebrating the joy of making music. HARMAN teams from around the world stepped up and displayed their fierce love for music and allowed all of us to connect in a unique way. Our teams continue to bring fresh ideas to connect young people to music and offer new ways for them to appreciate and learn a craft that inspires them. We hope that next year we’ll be able to bring back in-person events and performances in tandem with virtual events as we learn from the successes of this celebration. No matter the format, our appreciation and celebration of the power of music isn’t going to stop. We hope that you all continue to stay safe and never stop making and enjoying music!