William Close brings his infamous Earth Harp to Australia for the first time at the Horizon Festival.
“For me the Earth Harp has been about connecting to earth and the people from earth through the celebration of architecture and music. To finally have a moment in Australia is an incredible milestone,” William says.
For one night only, the Los Angeles-based artist will deliver two concert spectacles, collaborating with local Sunshine Coast musicians and performers including Linsey Pollak, Lizzie O’Keefe, Louise King and Tjupurru.
“I’m really excited to work with these artists… Hopefully I will be able to work with them again in the future.”
During the concert the body of the Earth Harp will rest on the stage and 25 strings will travel across the length of Kings Beach Amphitheatre, over the audience, transforming the venue into an instrument.
William first introduced the Earth Harp to the world in the early 2000s.
“I basically stretched string from one side of a canyon to the other side, which was roughly 200 metres. I turned the canyon into a giant harp and it was the world’s first Earth Harp.”
Since then, William has performed on nearly every continent, showcasing what music sounds like from the inside.
“What’s really wild about the Earth Harp is, whether I’m in a beautiful concert hall or a theatre, the sounds that come out are breathtaking. There is a lot of harmonics and high tones that come out of the strings along with the lower tones and everyone really feels it.”
“I think that’s certainly one of the reasons that keep me pushing this instrument and the concept, as the emotional response from the audience is so powerful, I feel like I have to do it.”
Installation artist, musician and visionary, William has developed over 100 instruments including the Drum Jacket that might make an appearance at the Horizon Festival. “The Drum Jacket is an actual jacket that I wear that has senses on it. I literally play myself, it’s almost like a comedy piece but it’s really cool.”
The Earth Harp has been installed in some of the most iconic destinations around the world such as the Colosseum in Rome, the Kennedy Centre and Lincoln Centre in the US, The Seattle Space Needle, the temples of Vietnam, Grand Theatre of Shanghai International Arts Festival as well as major US festivals like Coachella and Bumbershoot.
“Every place is unique, at the Horizon Festival we are setting up a very specific structure so that the strings really encompass the audience.”
In 2012 William earned a finalist slot on the TV show ‘America’s Got Talent’ and was recently named by the ‘Guinness Book Of World Records’ as the world’s longest playable stringed musical instrument. “The Earth Harp looked great on TV, as it’s really visual.”
Having studied sculpture and sound design at the Art Institute Of Chicago, William explores the connection between architecture and music through the Earth Harp.
William is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Earth Harp Collective, an internationally well-known performance group that combines artist, musicians, dancers and aerialists.
William is currently in the process of orchestrating a big event in Hawaii where he will be performing at the base of a volcano.
