Natural Frequencies

A 2 minute highlights video.

Another 2 minute video

Entire 10 min performance.

Bell towers have been used for centuries as a medium to effectively convey time, calls to prayer and community events, and warnings about invasions, fires, and floods. Although the latter are rare on the UC Berkeley campus, Sather Tower is located close to the Hayward Fault Line, where a major earthquake is considered likely in the next 30 years.

This installation and performance includes a unique composition of bells (both recorded and live) and lighting modulated in real time by data from the UC Berkeley seismometer adjacent to the Hayward Fault. The title refers to the response of structures and systems to external forces.

Carillonists: Jeff Davis and Tiffany Ng
Concept: Ken Goldberg, Ed Campion, Greg Niemeyer, and Perrin Meyer
Music Composition: Ed Campion
Lighting Design: Greg Niemeyer and Jeff Lubow
Sound Design: Ed Campion and Jeff Lubow
Seismic System Design: Sanjay Krishnan
Event Design and Documentation: Amy Hamaoui , LaDawn Duvall, Colin Ho, Alex Turney

Special thanks to Meyer Sound for event audio and lighting, Richard Allen, Doug Neuhouser, and Peggy Hellweg of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory for the live data feed, the Departments of Music, Art Practice, IEOR, EECS, the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT), and the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM).

KQED Article by Laura Sydell

KTVU (Ch2) story by Amber Lee

KCBS radio Story by Curtiss Kim

Printable Poster (6MB .pdf)