Riverside Whistles and Bells

An extended sonic event for live computer and electronics, 24 bell carillon, handbell choir and local ambience on the roof of RAM.

Riverside Whistles and Bells is an extended site-specific sonic event to take place on the roof of the Riverside Art Museum (RAM). Composer and sound artist, Philip Mantione will create new music for live computer and electronics, 24 bell carillon (housed in the bell tower of the First Congregational Church of Riverside – FCCR) and handbell choir, to be performed and intertwined with the local ambience of downtown Riverside. The Music Director and Carillonneur of FCCR, Linda Corbitt will perform live, reading from a temporal score that will be synchronized with a live computer performance by Mantione and the FCCR Handbell Choir. The computer portion will be based on samples of the FCCR carillon, field recordings of the carillon in the Bell Tower of UCR, the train whistles and sounds that regularly permeate the community and natural sounds. Excerpts of the live performance and related electroacoustic works will be compiled for a new release on the Norwegian netlabel, Petroglyph Music.

Mantione writes custom software to meld field recordings, sampling and computer generated sounds into unique sonic textures. He uses natural and man-made sounds as source material for computer music and as inspiration for acoustic compositions.

Raised in a working class neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, the sounds of church bells and trains were an integral part of the composers’ early sonic consciousness. Mantione reflects, “Church bells are functional, typically used to mark the passing of time, call people to services, celebrate an occasion or solemnify a funeral ceremony. Likewise, train whistles are used to alert the community that a locomotive is approaching and its inertia must be respected. The rich harmonic content in these sounds is enhanced by the geographic landscape and man-made structures that reflect and diffract sound waves in serendipitous ways.  These types of sounds are some of my earliest sonic memories and are a comforting presence whenever I hear them. The trains that travel through Riverside’s Box Springs Mountain generate a natural reverberation and echo that is unique to the area. The power of these communal sounds to travel long distances allows for a limitless array of sonic experiences based on the physical location of any given listener. This work will call attention to the beauty of the ambient sounds in our environment that are often ignored or relegated as background noise. Beyond the appreciation of the sound-in-itself, the piece will embrace the collaboration between culture, nature, and civilization in the sense of ecoacoustics, provoke the imagination, and encourage multiple narratives unique to each individual. The work will illuminate the divisions reflected by symbolic architectural structures and industrial mechanisms while bringing together a community through the appreciation of the sounds of daily life.”

Tickets

Tickets are $10 for general admission. RAM members, students, and seniors (65+) are $5 (you will need to show current ID at the door). If paying with American Express, please call us at 951.684.7111. Thank you. 

Riverside Whistles and Bells Tickets
 General Admission Ticket $10.00 USD RAM Member Ticket $5.00 USD Student (w/ID) Ticket $5.00 USD Senior (w/ID)Ticket $5.00 USD 
Name(s) Ticket(s) Reserved for

This event is sponsored by: