Kalimbascope is a “Public Participatory Sound Installation” that has been performed annually in various incarnations as part of Make Music Winter since 2014. All interested participants, regardless of experience, are welcomed and encouraged to join composer and conductor J.C. King as he leads a procession of players plucking kalimbas – an evolution of the African mbira, or thumb piano.

The instruments are then gently amplified through the “Kalimbascope,” a mobile live-sound system that transforms the emissions of the ancient folk instruments into clouds of sparking harmony and tropical ambiance in an inclusive action of presence, abstraction, meditation and catharsis.

WHEN & WHERE: Meet up to kick off with the procession from the northeast corner of Columbus Circle at 4:32 PM for a sunset departure that will wend its way through Central Park.

HOW TO JOIN: Kalimbas on loan are distributed to the first two dozen participants to arrive, or bring your own. Participants are welcome to simply show up, but if you know you will be coming ahead of time please send a courtesy email with the subject line “Kalimbascope” to info@MakeMusicNY.org so that the organizaers know how many paraders to expect.

Make Music Winter, first launched in 2011, is a free, outdoor musical event each December 21st that turns audiences into music makers. Inspired by Phil Kline’s annual Unsilent Night, a boombox parade that has become an international tradition, Make Music Winter transforms New York’s cityscape with participatory musical parades on the winter solstice, running the gamut of musical genres.