The Percussion Studio at Stephen F. Austin State University and its director, Dr. Brad Meyer, will coordinate an interactive community performance of Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night” starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at The Liberty Bell, 422 E. Main St., downtown Nacogdoches.
Participants will enjoy a 45-minute walk through picturesque Nacogdoches while listening to a recording of “Unsilent Night” that has been downloaded to play over a smart device connected to portable speakers or to a CD played over a boom box.
Meyer encouraged community members to participate in the performance by following one of two steps:
• Download the app (https://itunes.apple.com/app/phil-klines-unsilent-night/id483509723?mt=8 or search “Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night” in your app store) and play it over a smart device by connecting it to a portable speaker.
• Download one of the four mp3 tracks from http://unsilentnight.com/participate and burn it to a CD that can be played over a boombox.
People can play the music from the app over their phone speaker, but this has a less-than-desirable sound quality and should only be used if the other options are not possible, Meyer said.
“If inclement weather occurs, we plan on doing the performance inside The Liberty Bell,” he said. “To participate, simply be at The Liberty Bell by 7:15 p.m. and have a way to play the ‘Unsilent Night’ music. Music players are not supplied by the host, so please plan on bringing your own music player.”
Joe Woodard of The Los Angeles Times described the “Unsilent Night” event as, “A dreamy fruitcake of parts, tranquil even through its anarchy.” And K. Leander Williams in Time Out New York said, “Kline’s luminous, shimmering wash of bell tones is one of the loveliest communal new-music experiences you’ll ever encounter, and it’s never the same twice.”
Meyer further defined it as a family-friendly event, with people often bringing their children with infants and toddlers in strollers.
“‘Unsilent Night’ has in fact become a holiday tradition for many families,” he said. “Some families have been doing it for the past 20 years, and their children have grown up walking ‘Unsilent Night.'”
The event is part of the SFA School of Music’s Cole Performing Arts Series. For more information, go to http://unsilentnight.com, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.
