World Music Day

World Music Day, also known globally as Fête de la Musique or Make Music Day, is celebrated every year on 21^st June.

World Music Day 2025 reaffirmed a timeless truth: music belongs to everyone.

Whether played on a street corner, in a concert hall, or through a phone screen, music continues to heal, connect, and inspire.

With this year’s focus on healing and unity, the day served as a powerful reminder of music’s ability to bring light, especially in challenging times.

The learners and staff at Thornbeck College celebrated World Music Day this year by engaging in various music based activities.

Instruments from different cultures, including the steel tongue drum, bird whistles, ocarinas, Djembe drums, percussion frogs, panpipes, rainsticks and Damura drums were explored and used by the learners alongside inclusive resources regarding the origin and use of each instrument.

Musically talented staff shared skills teaching sessions with learners which included color-coded keyboard learning using sticker-based keyboard notation, chord based guitar instruction and using drum pads to practice sticking and rudiments using simple and relatable rhythms such as “tea, tea, lemonade”.

In further celebration of World Music Day—which encourages free, inclusive performances and community engagement—learners enjoyed the incredible talents of local musicians who generously donated their time and resources to perform for us.

Highlights included two members of the fantastic Newton Aycliffe Pipe Band delivering the stirring sound of the bagpipes and creating a truly memorable atmosphere  and the gifted Alan Thompson, who captivated the audience with performances on both saxophone and flute, both embodying the day’s spirit of sharing music for joy and connection.

Staff then supported Learners in generating a song constructed from their thoughts and feelings around music.

Using Suno.com, which uses AI to help people craft songs easily, we collectively created our own college song.

This embodied the spirit of World Music Day by making creating music accessible to everyone, no matter their background or musical skill and encouraging expression of thoughts and feelings through music.

Thornbeck College’s celebration of World Music Day beautifully captured the day’s core message: music belongs to everyone.

Through exploring diverse instruments, learning new skills, enjoying live performances, and creating music together with the help of AI on Suno.com, learners and staff embraced the power of music to unite, inspire, and heal.

This vibrant celebration not only honored musical traditions from around the world but also highlighted how technology can open new doors for creativity and expression—reminding us all that the joy of music is truly universal.