Musician Tours to Find Music

Dec. 1, 2006— -- What would you do with a degree from Yale University in geology and geophysics? How about construct a box out of plywood, outfit it with a microphone and soundproofing blankets, and schlep it to museums across the Northeast in order to record strangers's voices? No?

Well, that is exactly what 32-year-old Boston musician Halsey Burgund did.

However peculiar this may seem, Burgund is not a man without purpose. He began recording his family and friends to turn their speaking voices into music and has since branched out to the general public.

"I found that upon close listening that you can really get some moments of beauty to come out of these spoken words that are really amazing," Burgund said. "Some rhythm, some melodies, some wonderful, wonderful bits of music can actually come out of the spoken voice when you treat it as such."

Through his project, "Bring Your Own Voice," he hopes to elicit truthful and heartfelt responses from his interviewees, which he will then transform into songs.

To record his volunteers, he constructed a booth with a microphone, and since 2005 he has lugged the room to nearly 30 locations, from Harvard Square to bowling alleys, recording hundreds of hours worth of material.

In July, Burgund and his booth went on "tour," so to speak, as he set up shop in seven museums scattered throughout the Northeast including The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Conn., MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City, and The New Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston.

"People were completely amazed and moved," said Aldrich Museum spokeswoman Alison Pratt, who brought her two sons, ages 4 and 6, to the well-attended exhibit.

Of the booth itself, Pratt said it was "very approachable," "very inviting," and "eye-catching."

"It felt like you were in a big womb," said Corey Cronin, spokesman for the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass., which also hosted Burgund's booth. Cronin described the booth as a "very serene and warm place where you can focus on what you're saying and express yourself freely."

And despite his claustrophobia, he said he felt very comfortable answering Burgund's questions in the tiny booth.