For the performance of Winter Music, dozens of pedestrians joined composer Phil Kline in winding their way through Columbus Circle and into Central Park at dusk, in order to create an ambient sound spectacle. Kline’s interactive piece was composed for audio tapes and performed by a walking chorus of boom boxes in the tradition of holiday caroling.

Kline stated, “As a location for Winter Music, the city is ready-made at Christmas Time—the lights, the familiar bustle, and furthermore, the emotions. It seems to me that even the most hardened among us succumb to a certain kind of longing and expectation that maybe something wonderful will happen.” Winter Music brought an aural awareness of the joys of the winter season to the city’s public.

Phil Kline

Winter Music

Manhattan

1996