Global ocarina community holds 1st in-person OcarinaFest in 3yrs

Ocarina Fest participants march outside of the Denton courthouse on Sept. 30, 2023. MaKenzie Givan

Professional ocarina players, makers and enthusiasts from across the country and around the world came together from Sept. 28 to Oct.1 for an event called OcarinaFest, celebrating their shared passion for the wind instrument.

The OcarinaFest had performances in various places around Denton like Quakertown Park, Bramblitt's Yellow Dog Art Bar & Gallery, Denton Square and the SpringHill Suites by Marriott as their main headquarters for the event. OcarinaFest also featured a wide variety of panel discussions from ocarina specialists who spoke about their passion and knowledge, and an ocarina showcase from ocarina makers.

Ocarinas are a type of ceramic vessel flute that typically includes between four and 12 holes and a mouthpiece protruding from its body.

“We want to raise awareness of what the ocarina is, what it means to us, and also expose new people who may have never heard of it or maybe have only seen it in video games,” said Nicolas Miranda, OcarinaFest organizer and Denton ISD music teacher. “To how beautiful and cool this instrument can be.”

One of the main events was the Ocarina March held at Denton Square. The tradition usually takes place at Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. This year was the first time the Ocarina March was held outside Seattle. Miranda directed the crowd of 25 ocarina players briefly before the march began at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The participants in the march were at different skill levels, but the small community encourages anyone who is interested to join and learn more. The ocarina players had music sheets duct taped to the back of their shirts so that the players behind them could follow along and play.

As the small crowd made its way around the Square, they garnered various reactions from bystanders. Some looked confused and curious, while others filmed with their phones and a smile on their face. Drivers at stop lights rolled down their windows to watch.

After the Ocarina March at Denton Square, a concert was held at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott featuring well-known ocarina musicians. The first performer that afternoon was Kate Grove, who has been playing the ocarina since she was around the age of 8.

Grove's family is into Bluegrass and folk music so Grove grew up performing the fiddle with her family. In 2020, she started branding as a solo musician.

Grove took the stage with her ocarina and performed for about 40 minutes. The room was dimly lit and there was no other sound. The high and low-pitched tones were crafted into a smooth rhythmic melody, creating a serene atmosphere in a hotel conference room of 40 people.

“It’s really awesome being in an environment of everyone that’s coming together, the common interest of the ocarina,” Grove said. “I really feel like I’m with my people here.”

Another well-known ocarina player is Freckled Zelda. She is easily recognized in the crowd with her extravagant frilly pastel-colored dress, bold makeup, curly orange-red hair and elf ears.

The ocarina musician and social media influencer has 8.1 million followers and 204.3 million likes on TikTok. She has been professionally performing since she was 12 years old and auditioned on America’s Got Talent in 2022 at 20.

Freckled Zelda, ocarina musician and social media influencer, is also friends with Grove, and was happy to see her perform.

“The highlight of my whole experience is Kate Grove,” Zelda said. “She’s just a really cool ocarina pal of mine.”

OcarinaFest has been taking place since 2016, but from 2021 to 2022, it was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason it was held in Denton is because of the city's reputation as a music town and being in the center of the U.S. This makes the flight shorter for people coming in from the East and West Coasts, like ocarina maker and business owner Austin Dress from Savage, Maryland who is the owner of his company Savage Ocarinas.

He started making ocarinas 10 years ago and named his company based on where he learned to do ceramics and currently lives. It takes him about four hours to form an ocarina and do the tuning and eight hours to bake in the kiln.

Dress also plays the ocarina himself and started playing clarinet in high school. Although Dress did not have an ocarina teacher, he worked with someone who was a professional clarinetist and taught people how to play the ocarina.

“It has a very pure tone,” said Austin Dress, ocarina maker and owner of Savage Ocarinas. “I think that’s what draws a lot of people to it.”