Carillon Chimes at UC San Diego’s Iconic Geisel Library Make Telematic Debut at La Jolla Symphony

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On Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3, the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus will premiere The Moon in La Jolla, the 2015 winner of the prestigious Nee Commission Award. In addition to the classic orchestral ensemble, the UC San Diego Library’s carillon, which sits atop Geisel Library, will make its debut in the La Jolla Symphony performances via telematic technology.

This “tele-concerto” incorporates technology that allows musicians to play music together from different sites via the Internet. Thus, for the first time in the carillon’s 26-year history, the orchestra in UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium will play in real-time with a carillon soloist from atop Geisel Library at the May 2 and 3 concerts.

Truly a 21^st century work, the innovative musical piece was composed by UC San Diego Ph.D. candidate and Hong Kong composer, Yeung-ping Chen, and is based on a poem written by Hong Kong poet and UC San Diego alumnus, Leung Ping-Kwan, also known by the pen name Yasi. Ping-Kwan crafted the poem, The Moon in La Jolla, when he was studying at UC San Diego in the late 1970s.

Yeung-ping Chen, an award-winning composer, has been the recipient of numerous prizes and grants, including the prestigious Altius Fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council. Chen, who is currently studying with UC San Diego Music Professor Lei Liang, is conducting research on telematics musical composition, performative strategies for electro-acoustic music, and a hyper-transcriptional compositional process which he calls “Sonic Engraving.”

The UC San Diego carillon in Geisel Library, is operated by musician Scott Paulson, a UC San Diego alumnus and a Library employee.  Paulson, who performs noon concerts and musical requests on the carillon, has been collaborating for many months with Chen, Library staff, and La Jolla Symphony musicians to bring the “tele-concerto” to fruition.

For more information about the concerts, or to purchase tickets, visit: lajollasymphony.com.