As the clock strikes 5 p.m. and three minutes of music begin to
play, the sun is setting, the sky is orange and many students are
ending their day on campus.
Martin Bonadeo marks this end by letting the wind speak to the
campus.
The foreign scholar sits in a small room in the basement of
Schoenberg Hall playing the carillon that is heard throughout the
campus.
For eight days, the pre-recorded pieces that are typically heard
on campus are replaced by Bonadeo’s pieces based on wind
activity from the previous day. His last day playing will be
Wednesday.
The room consists of the carillon ““ a piano-like
instrument with two rows of keys ““ two chairs and a
computerized unit that controls the clock. The room is so small
that the chairs had to be readjusted for the door to close.
Before playing, 29-year-old Bonadeo downloads recorded
measurements of the day’s winds and practices the piece for
30 minutes.
The direction and speed of the wind indicate the notes played
and how many key strikes are made.
The wind measurements he uses are taken from Santa Monica
airport because the area is known to have similar wind patterns as
UCLA.
Bonadeo had to listen to wind-chimes for hours to find the notes
to correctly represent the wind.
In the three-minute piece, each hour of the day is represented
through eight seconds of music. Calm hours are represented as eight
seconds of silence and more windy hours can sometimes be a
“mess,” Bonadeo said.
“My experience is completely different than people who are
hearing it,” he said, referring to his perspective from the
tiny room and that he will never get to experience what it’s
like to hear the music on campus.
For those on campus, the experience differs depending on the
listener’s location because some notes can’t be heard
in parts that are far from the speakers at the top of Powell
library.
Bonadeo emphasized that the scenery of the location also changes
the listener’s experience.
“Each person has a unique experience with the piece,
including me,” he said, comparing it to being on a radio show
where the program is being broadcast from an “ugly room with
mics.”
Bonadeo came to UCLA from Argentina last spring and has since
been working with UCLA’s Hyper Media studio on developing a
number of projects using his grant from UCLA.
He has been trying since last April to obtain permission to play
the carillon, which is used for special occasions only.
As a part of his exploration into sound as a form of
communication, Bonadeo got the opportunity to play the carillon for
eight days.
Jeff Richmond, a senior electronics technician with the music
department, handles most inquiries regarding the carillon and said
a case like Bonadeo’s in which someone other than Music
department graduate advisor Mary Crawford, the designated
carillonneur, gets to play the carillon has never been done
before.
Richmond explained the carillon is programmed to play songs at
random and the only time it’s played live is by special
request and for special occasions.
According to “UCLA on the Move,” a book capturing
UCLA’s history, the bells first rang in March of 1939 and the
system has since been replaced by the carillon.
Bonadeo decided to dedicate his time to this project when he
noticed that most people on campus are often preoccupied with cell
phones and outside problems and “are not here
completely.” He explained that he saw this project as a good
opportunity to connect people to where they are.
He also appreciates the timing of the carillon project; the
music is played at the end of each day.
“What I’m playing is the wind from the last 24
hours. At 5 (p.m.) the day is closing, and I’m playing the
sound of that day,” he said. “This piece has a relation
with sun and cycles.”
Bonadeo sees UCLA as the perfect outlet for this form of public
art because there is such a large congregation of people from
different places gathered here.
“For those moments, everyone is connected,” he
said.