Garden of Memory at Chapel of the Chimes
Click for detailsAt this popular annual solstice concert, the program features simultaneous performances in different parts of the building by Bay Area composers, musicians, and other performers presenting a variety of acoustic and electronic music, installations, and interactive events; the audience is free to move throughout the building during the performances.
The artists, many of whom are well-known to Bay Area audiences, to be featured at this event include Kitka, Shelley Hirsch, Pamela Z, Anne Hege, Majel Connery, Baker-Barganier Duo, Henry Kaiser with Scott Amendola, Lightbulb Ensemble with Friction Quartet, Beth Custer, Stephen Kent, Sahba Sizdahkani, Dylan Mattingly, IMA, The Living Earth Show, Wendy Reid, John Benson, Kevin Robinson, the Cardew Choir, SCLOrk, Krys Bobrowski and Karen Stackpole, Zachary Watkins, and many many others. See the website http://www.gardenofmemory.com for the list of performers. A map and some of the schedules will be posted there, as well.
A sunset bell-ringing ceremony is led by Brenda Hutchinson for her Daily Bell Project.
Tickets will be available online until the night before from Brown Paper tickets and on the day of at the door for:
$20 General
$15 Students & Seniors 65 and over
$5 children 5-12
Under 5 free
Event goers are invited to wander the multilevel building which is built onto a hillside between Piedmont Avenue and Howe Street as the performers play simultaneously. Getting lost is part of the experience as guests climb up and down the three floors through a maze of gardens, cloisters, alcoves, stairwells, fountains and other architectural elements, which rise into vaulted ceilings. Seamless in feel there are three separate design sections created by four architects; Cunningham & Politeo 1909, Julia Morgan 1926-1951 (consulting until her retirement 1951), Aaron Green 1956-1986 and JST Architects 1986-1998. In the older section the complexity of chapels, columbaria, and mausoleum areas are adorned with murals, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, California tile and 16th century antiquities. All architectural and garden areas have excellent acoustics and are illuminated by gentle natural light, often through beautiful arrangements of stained glass.
Garden of Memory offers a unique and personal musical experience to every listener as he or she roves freely through this Oakland Historic Landmark building. Drawing crowds of over two thousand people each year (including a large number of children), Garden of Memory has become a favorite summer solstice celebration for Bay Area audiences.
Our Co-sponsor, Chapel of the Chimes, is the largest above-ground cemetery (mausoleum which is an inside cemetery) west of the Mississippi. Chimes started out as a street car station that was transformed into the California Memorial Crematorium and Columbarium in 1909. The property was expanded and transformed initially by Julia Morgan and later by Aaron Green, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Oakland Historical Landmark today continues to provide complete end-of-life services, part of a family of four premier Bay Area cemeteries, columbariums, crematories, mausoleums and funeral homes. From traditional to personalized, Chapel of the Chimes assists the diverse families of Northern California to fully memorialize and celebrate a life lived.
Parking is limited. Please carpool, use public transportation, or bike, if at all possible (folks usually use the fence on the parking lot across the street for locking their bicycles.) The nearby cemetery has requested that people do not park there during the event. There is also usually parking available on Pleasant Valley Rd. AC Transit's Line 12 stops at Piedmont & Pleasant Valley Rd - two blocks from the event. The bus runs every 20 minutes and serves both Ashby and 19th St BART, as well as the AMTRAK station: http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?ms_view_type=1&version_id=35&maps_category=2&maps_line=12&map_submit=Get+Schedule¤t_schedule=26476
The Chapel of the Chimes is only partially handicap accessible. There is access to the bottom, and to the top floor (where there will be performers), but not in between, and there is no elevator from the top to the bottom - one must exit and go up the street.
There will be a food truck at the Piedmont Avenue entry, with some tables available, and another truck up at the Pacific Plaza at the Howe Street entrance, which also has space for picnics. But no food or drink is allowed inside, except for water bottles - which are highly recommended, as it can get very hot inside and water fountains are few and far between. You can fill your bottles at the flower water stations - tap water only, however.
A map with the performers will be posted at www.gardenofmemory.com
Volunteers are always needed. If interested in helping out for 1.5-2 hours, in exchange for two free tickets - please email Lucy at newmusicbayarea@gmail.com