Unsilent Night in North Adams

New York composer Phil Kline returns to North Adams with his walking symphony, ‘Unsilent Night’ for its 10-year anniversary in the Northern Berkshires, a free, family-friendly, community event moving from the North Adams Public Library to Studio 9 at Porches Inn.

Described by the New York Times as “immers[ing] the listener in suspended wonderment, as if time itself had paused inside a string of jingle bells, ‘Unsilent Night’ relies everyone to come together and bring the four tracks of Phil Kline’s composition to life, filling the night with music and enchantment. Or, as Kline describes it, “It’s like a Christmas caroling party except that we don’t sing, but rather carry boomboxes, each playing a separate tape or CD which is part of the piece. In effect, we become a city-block-long stereo system.”

Now in its 32nd year, Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night was first performed in New York’s Greenwich Village as a one-time 45-minute composition. Since then, it has grown into a beloved annual event performed in communities around the world during the winter holiday season. A studio recording with Bang on a Can was made in 2001 and is available through Cantaloupe Music.

First produced in North Adams in 2014, Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night has quickly become a much-anticipated addition to the Northern Berkshire winter event calendar.

Community members of all ages are invited to gather at the Public Library and encouraged to dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes, bring a flashlight, lantern or deck yourself with festive lights, and think creatively about sound amplification: using boomboxes, phones, Bluetooth speakers, or other creative amplified sound devices – the louder the better! Download the music tracks in advance online (www.unsilentnight.com/download) or via the Unsilent Night app.

A limited number of Kline’s vintage boomboxes and cassette tapes will be available for use on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Each year we stroll a different route in the Northern Berkshires with familiar and new faces joining in the fun,” says producer Isabelle Holmes. “We’ve paraded through neighborhoods, down main streets and side streets, and through businesses.” The event has grown to over 80 participants and the musical parade gets the attention of those along the route with honks from passing cars, people coming out of their homes to listen, and others joining in along the way.

The 10th installment in the Berkshires is organized and produced by John Tibbetts and Sue Killam of MASS MoCA, Isabelle Holmes, Todd Reynolds, Molly Hess, Sandra Thomas, Brad Wells, Nico Dery, and Claire Hutchinson. Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, North Adams Public Library, Studio 9 at Porches Inn, and Mass MoCA.

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