Do you (or a friend) have access to a boat (ship, tug, tanker, trawler, yacht…) with a loud horn or whistle? Do you play a loud, low acoustic instrument audible from at least 200 yards (Sousaphone, tuba, trombone, foghorn, chain saw, Alphorn, hammer/anvil, church carillon, or are you part of a drum circle or Dykes on Bikes)? Are you near Duluth-Superior on Labor Day Saturday and available to premiere a giant piece of music during DS Pride celebrations? We need your help!

Philip Blackburn, St. Paul based environmental sound artist, through an Artist Initiative fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board, is composing a Harbor Serenade for as many community participants as possible; all honking, blowing, hooting and tooting across the water (and a few on the shoreline). His 2003 Harbor Symphony for St. John’s, Newfoundland involved 6 ships’ horns and can be heard here: http://soundcloud.com/innovadotmu/harbour-symphony

Now he is bringing the idea to Lake Superior for the first time, as a way to bring fresh attention to the soundscape of this special place. Philip will provide a simple set of instructions (no musical knowledge required). You just need to get into position somewhere on the lake within earshot of Bayfront Festival Park, start at the appointed time (3pm precisely), and honk or play according to the chart. It should all be over in 8 minutes or so and we expect there will be an audience of a few hundred thousand. Think of it as a flash mob maritime symphony orchestra.

Please spread this invitation around and respond if you have questions, would like to participate, or have suggestions about contacts. We don’t want this to be a surprise so let’s get the word out to media ahead of time.

Thanks. Looking forward to making some noise with you.

Visit philipblackburn.com for background on the artist.
Phone: 651 714-4963

Please respond to this invitation if you have great ideas, want to help organize, have questions, or can play on the day.