The whole idea for Tower Music began in 2004 when my wife, mimicking the way I play my percussion project The Bronze Collection, took a swing at a poster of the Eiffel Tower as if she was playing one of my gongs.
Photo c. 2005, Thom Joyce
Of course! Everything vibrates! Why not the Eiffel Tower? All one would have to do is locate where the different notes/sounds were, and play them like you’d play any other instrument.
This epiphany led the the next one, less thrilling, that I didn’t speak French nor did I have any contacts in Paris. After deliberating a week or so, I conceded that I’d have to do this project in the USA.
And why not?
Well, there’s the fact that there isn’t much in the way of analogous metal structures in the US that were instantly recognizable, historic world treasures, and located in a major capital city (or so I thought at the time, but I’m getting ahead of myself).
So invoking my Yankee ingenuity and I set out do it here, researching suitable public monuments that also had some approaching anniversary, thinking that an association with a high-profile civic celebration would yield additional excitement and visibility.
Long story short, five years later Bridge Music was launched during the Henry Hudson Quadricentennial in 2009
So what was the next logical step?
Why going back to the original inspiration, the Eiffel Tower of course.
I had proven the viability of the concept and amassed some measure of international acclaim, so if ever there was a time to pursue this to its logical conclusion, the time was now.