World's Largest Baby to Rise in Milwaukee on Make Music Day

Poland's Przekrój Foundation brings a 112-foot long hot air balloon to the shore of Lake Michigan, uniting hundreds of singers on the first day of summer

NEW YORK, April 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Make Music Day, the worldwide festival of music-making held annually on the summer solstice, announces the world premiere of Baby You, a public art event where a massive 112-foot long hot air balloon in the shape of a sleeping newborn will be inflated and rise over Milwaukee, accompanied by a new a cappella choral work by composer Michael Schachter.

Baby You – a spectacular sculpture floating in the air – is a symbol for the potential in all of us that's waiting to be awakened, unlimited, and endless as the sky. It is a reminder of the togetherness of people and the precious nature of life – joyful, full of wonder, and present in the here and now. Baby You aims to impart that each and every one of us is already enough, that we were born this way.

As the sun sets in Milwaukee on Friday, June 21, 2024, hundreds of singers will gather in Veterans Park, on the shore of Lake Michigan, to perform the new composition, while behind them the balloon is inflated, takes shape, and begins its tethered ascent. The combined aural and visual experience is meant by its creators to invoke the shared humanity of all people. Everyone was a baby once: adorable, vulnerable and full of potential.

Make Music Milwaukee, now in its eighth year, is recruiting up to 500 amateur and professional singers to form five choirs to perform the music by Michael Schachter, a composer known for his 2018 music-theater piece The Black Clown, which played a sold-out run at Lincoln Center, and for two concertos premiered in 2022 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Knoxville Symphony. Starting today, and until the end of May, singers may register at makemusicday.org/babyyou to perform in "Baby You".

Schachter envisions the Baby You choirs like the five fingers of the human hand, which also symbolize the coming together of the diverse communities of Milwaukee. The music is composed of syllables, hums and noises that express the wide range of sounds that babies make, from their heartbeat and breathing to coos and cries, which merge with the sounds of a parent's lullaby.

"All of us, no matter what background or identity or life path, start in the womb, are born into the world, and grow from baby to child to adolescent to adult," says

Schachter. "We are far more alike than different in most ways that really matter."

The Przekrój Foundation commissioned the choral work to accompany the unveiling of the inflatable sculpture. "Baby You" is a project of the Przekrój Foundation (pronounced p-SHEH-crooy), based in Warsaw and affiliated with the Polish magazine Przekrój. To bring this project to life, Przekrój partnered with Belgian artist Bart Van Peel. Production took over nine months and involved a collaboration between engineers, designers, and tailors in Poland, Belgium, and the UK. Made of tan fabric, the balloon's colors change with the light, reflecting the many hues of human skin.

"This will be the biggest event for Make Music Milwaukee since it began in 2017," said Tristann Rieck, Make Music Milwaukee director and owner of Brass Bell Music Store. "We're thrilled about this opportunity for Milwaukeeans to come together through song and art. We aim to co-create an experience that is innovative yet speaks to everyone."

About Make Music Day

Held annually on June 21 to coincide with the summer solstice, Make Music Day is part of the international Fête de la Musique taking place in more than 1,000 cities around the world. The daylong, musical free-for-all celebrates music in all its forms, encouraging people to band together and play in free public concerts. This year, over 140 U.S. cities and the entire states of Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin are organizing Make Music celebrations, encompassing thousands of music-making opportunities nationwide. Make Music Day is presented by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. www.makemusicday.org

About Michael Schachter

Michael Schachter is a composer, writer, and pianist based in Burlington, Vermont. His compositions have been performed at venues ranging from Lincoln Center to the Smithsonian to the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. Upcoming commissions include a new concerto for pianist Aaron Diehl & The Knights in honor of the centennial of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, as well as a large-scale project for Grammy-winning choir Conspirare. He is also developing projects for stage and film as a writer and composer with Seaview Productions. http://www.michaelschachter.com/

About the Przekroj Foundation

The PRZEKRÓJ Foundation (pronounced 'p-SHEH-crooy') grew out of Poland's oldest magazine about society and culture, available in print since 1945 and online, in Polish and English version. The Foundation is a holistic center for those who want to consciously co-create positive changes with the environment around them and within themselves. It supports a variety of projects that engage the public in thoughtful and meaningful ways. From mounting ambitious, large-scale art installations and festivals, to sponsoring comedy shows, exhibitions, and film screenings, they hope to spread joy and build community — and inspire others to do the same.  https://foundation.przekroj.org/

SOURCE NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)