Concealed Design by Tom Gurin is one of the five winning pieces in the National Association for Olmsted Parks’ composition contest, “Inspired by Olmsted”, combining public music and landscape architecture.
Click to download the flyer and the press release.
About Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted, the visionary father of American landscape architecture, was born on April 26, 1822. 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. Throughout the anniversary year, the Olmsted 200 national campaign is celebrating Olmsted’s life and legacy as author, journalist, city planner, public official, activist and creative genius who transformed the modern American landscape.
The Bicentennial includes national and local events, advocacy and educational outreach across the country.
Olmsted’s philosophy and designs influenced the development of landscapes of beauty throughout the nation, including national, state, and local parks, parkways, college campuses, cities and planned communities, estates, cemeteries and recreation areas. Olmsted and his successor firms designed thousands of landscape projects across the country. His vision of universal access to public parks, open space, and resilient landscape design is more relevant than ever.
Many of Olmsted’s landscapes or those by the Olmsted Firm are graced by carillons, including Bok Tower Gardens, Washington National Cathedral, Trinity College (Connecticut), the University of Chicago, and Riverside Church in New York City.
In 2021, the National Association for Olmsted Parks announced the sponsorship of Inspired by Olmsted, a carillon composition competition designed to celebrate Olmsted’s legacy.
For centuries, bell towers were used to communicate— by sounding the hour or alerting to some emergency. These architectural elements have often been a focus for public spaces and many are located within Olmsted landscapes. Some house carillons, musical instruments of at least 23 bronze bells played by a musician from a keyboard.
Inspired by Olmsted aims to enliven these “concert halls” with original compositions created with the life and legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted in mind.
Winning Pieces
In celebration of Olmsted’s legacy, the National Association for Olmsted Parks and Olmsted 200 sponsored a carillon composition competition in 2021, Inspired by Olmsted. An expert jury, chaired by Washington National Cathedral Carillonneur, Edward Nassor, selected five winners. First Prize: Geert D’hollander, Winter Haven, FL, Four Miniatures; Second Prize: Peter Paul Olejar, Raleigh, NC, Four Olmsted Landscapes: Homage; Niagara Falls; US Capitol Grounds; Biltmore; Central Park; Third Prize (tie): Joey Brink, Chicago, IL, beneath a canopy of trees; Ellen Dickinson, Wilton, CT, Oasis in the City: Change Rings Through; Honorable Mention: Tom Gurin, Raleigh, NC, Concealed Design
The winning pieces will be presented in concerts between March and September this year at Bok Tower Gardens, Riverside Church, Washington National Cathedral, The University of Chicago and Longwood Gardens.
For a copy of the music, please contact me at thomas.gurin@aya.yale.edu.