When it comes to bells, Apolda is a Global Player …

Bells and music from different time zones and cultures will join in an orchestrated event that can be witnessed in Apolda and all around the world via live stream at www.livestream.com/salveworld.

The gap of geographical distances will be bridged with the sounds of bells, music, live images and new media. Prominent bells from the four cardinal directions represent global bell culture.

• A 110 years old Apolda bell in Kotagiri, India, represents the East.
• The Schilling carillon in Sandefjord, Norway, represents the North.
• Bangkok, Thailand, features the bells of the global South.
• Which bell will ring for the West will be revealed on Aug. 5^th.
• The “Apolda Bell All Stars” directed by Ludger Nowak follow the trace of the bells around the world with their own compositions.

The elements come together on the stage of the Thuringian garden expo in Apolda, from where the world bell concert will be streamed back into the world.

“Bells are music, bells connect, bells make you listen”

The name of the small town of Apolda in the German state of Thuringia is linked to 20.000 or so bells and carillons that were cast here over the centuries and brought to distant parts of the world, where many of them continue to be rung. Bells are no longer built in Apolda, but the World Bell Concert is a tribute to the tradition and an invitation to perceive bell culture as world culture, literally: bells from all over the world enter in a dialogue with music to be united in a global multimedia symphony.

The idea of demonstrating the internationality and musicality of bells in a live broadcast is unique but not without precursors. Televised World Bell Concerts on the market place of Apolda took place in1999, 2003, 2007 and 2012.

Participants and audiences all over the world can watch via livestream as the celebration of bells and music in their various interpretations unfolds.

The grandness of their sounds, the artistry of their manufacturing, the multitude of their symbolism, the sheer loudness in the soundscapes of everyday life and in solemn festivities call for an appreciation of bells in a contemporary context.

Media artist Micky Remann, curator of the Apolda World Bell Concert has been in communication with dedicated partners and supporters worldwide to prepare for the ambitious project.

www.apoldaglocken.de
www.livestream.com/salveworld
www.facebook.com/ApoldaWeltglocken/