“Oliver Beer: Vessel Orchestra”

A sort of cross between a pipe organ and what happens when you put a seashell to your ear, Vessel Orchestra represents the first-ever sound installation commissioned by The Met. The piece is the creation of Oliver Beer, and for it, the British artist rummaged through the museum’s holdings to assembly a group of hollow objects (sculptures; utilitarian and decorative objects) whose interior volumes register pitches on the musical scale from C to G sharp. Each piece is mic’ed to produce what’s essentially an individual stop on a single instrument that can be played live or on its own using a pre-programmed file in “player piano” mode. The artist uses the latter during the museum’s regular hours to perform original compositions, while Friday evenings are reserved for live performances on the Vessel Orchestra by a line-up of guest performers.