William Close and the Earth Harp Collective
Most recently featured as the headline act of the NFL’s official Super Bowl Tail Gate Party, William Close and the Earth Harp Collective also gained fame with their finals appearance on the 2013 season of of America's Got Talent. William and the Earth Harp Collective is an internationally renowned performance group that combines the creative forces of artists, musicians, composers and choreographers. Through an exciting blend of sculpture, music, dance and the visual arts, William continues to delight audiences throughout the U.S. and around the world with his unique large-scale instruments and kinetic visual, musical performances. Rooted in tradition while pushing the experimental edge to new levels, The Earth Harp Collective is truly is a new design in music. Architectural-based installations often provide the backdrop for a performance. The Earth Harp, designed and created by Artistic Director William Close, is "The World's Largest Stringed Instrument." A resonating chamber is placed on the stage, and the golden strings stretch out over the audience. The building, ballroom or concert hall literally becomes the instrument, and the audience experiences the music from within the instrument itself. The strings can attach to the balcony at the back of a theater, the top of building or other architectural structure, or even to the environment itself, like the top of a mountain. The Earth Harp has been installed all over the world, transforming the Coliseum in Rome, a temple in Vietnam, an art deco hotel on South Miami Beach, a historic theater in Sao Paulo, the Space Needle in Seattle and a mountain peak in California.
William & the Earth Harp Collective is also famous for inventing many other original stringed and percussion instruments, such as drum sculptures and wing harps. These instruments are played alongside traditional instruments creating an original musical hybrid of classical and contemporary styles. William infuses every performance and activity with the spirit of innovation and creativity. Their music can be customized to range from high energy and “rock” to more ethereal and atmospheric, depending on the event. The musical compositions explore tonal and melodic dynamics that reference modern, pop and classical genres.
Home Base: San Francisco
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