This Thursday, April 13, CWU music students will flood the Ellensburg community with music. CWU music students will be performing all day all over town for the First Annual Day of Music 2017.

Day of Music will feature numerous students who are encouraged to play music throughout Ellensburg, according to Samuel McClung. There will be musical performances at many different venues during the entire day.

The concerts will also take place in local businesses including Safeway, Gallery One, Dakota Café, Grapes and Crepes and several others.  

According to the music department, the purpose of Day of Music is to encourage music students to “dream big, create professional partnerships, and do what they love while playing music and sharing their art with the community.”

“We practice for several hours a day, therefore it is cool to be able to do something with the amount of hours we put into practice and Day of music also allows us to give back to the community,” said Joe Walrath, a sophomore music major who will be performing at Day of Music.

Wrath said he is excited for all the performers to have an opportunity to gain real world experience.

This event is beneficial for both the students and the community as local business owners will support CWU by opening up their doors to CWU student musicians. Day of Music also gives the community the opportunity to see how much students practice and hear numerous different musical pieces.

Day of Music was thought of by CWU music students and the students are volunteering to play for the day. It will also expose elementary students to a higher level musical skill.

Henry Sparks, a junior music major, said that when he was attending Mountlake Terrace High School he saw CWU music students perform.

“It made me want to attend CWU and pursue my dream in wanting to study music because I was exposed to music and arts at a young age,” Sparks said. “Although I am not performing at Day of Music, I am planning on attending Day of Music to support my fellow colleagues.”

Performances will vary from duets to solos and quartets, and will feature brass instruments, woodwinds, strings and pianos. Different genres of music will be performed throughout the day including Broadway Hits, The Beatles, Beethoven, ABBA and instrumental jazz.  

The event will also feature a variety of performers from the Freshman Horn Ensemble to seniors playing violin duets. On average, each performance will go anywhere from half an hour to an hour. Day of Music will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Gallery One and will end at Bldg. 420 at 9:00 p.m.