This was a blast! Part of Make Music Winter, a program that actually takes place on both solstices, winter and summer, this was run-of-the-mill, regular folks ringing bells based on signals by flag-waving leaders. I’m not making this up you know.
Even kids could do it. People arrived, chose colored bells and then played them as directed by colored flags. Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. There were some logistical problems at the beginning—duh—not everyone had a bell and some people had two. Once that was settled, we were ready to begin. Also, the five (for each song) leaders had to sync and start their hand-held devices at the top of each piece. There were at least three false starts. So much for technology.
There was a sound check before each piece (not every bell was used in every piece), and that was quite helpful. When your leader raised his (I’m not being sexist here, they were all guys) flag, you rang your bell. It created a wash of sound. Were there tunes? For the most part, no.
We started in Tompkins Square Park then, after playing two tunes, we walked to Avenue B and Fifth Street, playing two more tunes there (we were encouraged to ring our bells while walking—and got pleasant responses from passersby) before ending up at Avenue A and Third Street.
The last piece was (if I’m remembering correctly) composed by a member of So Percussion. It was a bell riff on Silent Night. It worked pretty well. We got the tune but it was bent just a bit. Definitely a cool yule.
This is one event I’m pretty sure I’ll do again and maybe even invite friends to attend with me.
ConcertMeister
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