Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid’s launched a new public art music project to illuminate the natural environment at Griffith Park. (photo courtesy of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance)

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance presents “Ellen Reid Soundwalk,” a free GPS-enabled work of public art that uses music to illuminate the natural environment of Griffith Park. The free app is available for download and is accessible in the park until 2023.

Created by Reid, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and sound artist, the experience is guided by the listener: the path chosen dictates the music heard, and with sonic easter eggs hidden throughout no two visits will be exactly the same. After downloading the app, the user’s journey is dictated by location, triggering musical cells that are carefully crafted to harmonize with the park’s landscape and attractions.

“I hope people dig in. I hope they come curious and have an open mind,” Reid said. “I hope that listeners discover new paths and trails in the truly vast and unknowable Griffith Park, or see familiar paths in new ways.”

The piece was conceived prior to but created during the pandemic and encourages calm reflection and introspection. It can be experienced while following social distancing guidelines. The newly written, cinematic score was rendered remotely by a patchwork of artists from across the country and features a world-premiere recording by Kronos Quartet, created specifically for Griffith Park.

Griffith Park was selected as the locale by the composer and CAP UCLA because of its significance as a beloved and iconic public outdoor space shared and enjoyed by the city’s many diverse communities.

For information, visit cap.ucla.edu.