“What kind of shoes are you going to wear?” was the first question I asked Craig Shepard, a local music composer, who over the next 13 weeks will walk everywhere in NYC using no other form of transportation, to traverse over 780 miles and during that time compose 13 original pieces of music.
Each weekend starting this Sunday February 26, 2012, he will lead cellphone free walks from Greenpoint to a different outdoor location in Brooklyn, where he will perform the musical piece. This Sunday’s performance will take place in Bensonhurst (NW Corner of 18th Ave and 85th St), as part of Composer’s Now. Then he is going to turn around and walk back to Greenpoint. The walks will be documented by Beth O’Brien.
Craig has been doing public musical art performance for the past 10 years. Back in 2008 he walked 250 miles across Switzerland. Every day he composed a new piece, wrote it down and performed it on a pocket trumpet at 6 p.m.
What is the music like? It’s classically composed but nothing like Mozart. He described it as: “standing outside listening to snow falling,” a sound foreign to us in Brooklyn this winter. When he performed in Zurich, he noticed the direct connection passersby had with the music, maybe not something they would notice usually, but while they passed by they seemed to really enjoy it. Give it a listen.
My next question is why? Craig’s day job is at a hedge fund in Midtown, so this is how he can integrate music into his everyday life, in which “walking becomes [his] studio.”
And the shoes? He is trying out waterproof Clarks, but doesn’t want to endorse them until he sees how they hold up. Fair enough.
To join Craig on one of his Sunday walks, visit his website for the schedule. Advance booking is required.