“Unsilent Night,” New York composer Phil Kline’s free, all-volunteer outdoor boombox holiday concert, returns to the San Francisco Bay Area for its fifth annual performance on Saturday, December 22, 2006, at 7:00 PM.

A beautiful, mobile piece of ambient public art, Unsilent Night can be compared to a holiday caroling party -- except that participants don’t sing. Instead, each carries an ordinary boombox playing a separate cassette, CD or mp3 that becomes part of the piece. In effect, Kline and his co-performers become single elements in a huge, moving sound system.

Performed within the confines of the city streets, Unsilent Night reverberates off the cars and buildings, resulting in a magnificent, drifting cloud of shimmering, echoing sound. The 43-minute piece includes sounds of chiming bells, choral voices and various electronic effects. (Kline cites Brian Eno and Charles Ives among his influences.)

Kline has performed Unsilent Night in New York City every year since 1992. Last year, more than 1,000 people took part in the SF procession.

Participants are invited to bring a boombox to Mission Dolores Park at 18th and Dolores Streets in San Francisco, gathering at 7:00 PM. After Kline distributes tapes and CDs among the players, the group will begin the piece, strolling a mile-long route though the Mission, Noe, and Castro districts. The event will be held rain or shine.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.unsilentnight.com