The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University has announced that tickets are on sale for a November 2 concert presentation with William Close and the Earth Harp Collective. The internationally renowned ensemble that holds a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest playable stringed instrument is set to return to Pollak Theatre.
William Close, an avid musician and alumni of the Art Institute of Chicago, began concocting and crafting his own instruments while in school. He had a desire to actualize all that he found beautiful and inviting about nature, and so the Earth Harp was born.
The body of The Earth Harp rests on the stage, while the strings travel over the audience, attaching to the back of the theatre, concert hall and/or festival ground, turning every space into an instrument. By rubbing violin rosin covered gloves along the strings, the Earth Harp’s bowed tones and overlapping ripple effect makes it sound as if it were being played in some vaulted cathedral, giving the music a sanctified quality.
William Close and the Earth Harp Collective – a team of musicians, dancers, aerialists and artists, have travelled the world playing at iconic venues like Rome’s Coliseum, Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center, New York’s Lincoln Center, Seattle’s Space Needle, Shanghai’s Grand Theater, Sao Paulo’s Theatro Muncipal, as well as major U.S. festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella and Burning Man.
The celebrated Earth Harp earned Close a finalist slot on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Close has designed at least two permanent Earth Harp installations, one as part of Cirque du Soleil’s show KA at the MGM Las Vegas, the other as part of a 1,300-seat theater aboard the Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, Quantum of the Seas. With an interest in soundtrack work, Close has also recorded music for Game Of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi for Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.
Tickets for the November 2 concert range from $40-60 and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at monmouth.edu/MCA. Tickets for other upcoming Performing Arts events —including a concert event featuring Bridgman | Packer Dance (November 15) and On a Winter’s Night (November 16) at the Pollak Theatre— are also available now. To schedule interviews, please contact Kelly Barratt at 732-263-5114.
