Cambridge's "Unsilent Night": Community Music Parade

The Boston Globe · A.Z. Madonna · 2026-11-06 10:30 UTC

For this annual tradition, participants download tracks of bells and chimes by composer Phil Kline and play them as they walk together along city streets.

Picture this: You’re going about your business on a dark mid-December evening, pulling your coat tight against the wind. Somewhere in the distance you hear a haze of beautiful and silvery sound — bells, chimes, voices. Maybe you see the source, dozens of people carrying music players of all shapes and sizes, from weighty vintage boom boxes to commonplace smartphones, spreading the sound through the streets. Or maybe you simply move along with your heart slightly lighter.

Either way, you just encountered “Unsilent Night,” a participatory piece of music and participatory performance art by composer Phil Kline. During the leadup to Christmas, it is performed in dozens of cities around the globe, and this year on Dec. 12, it’ll ring through the streets of Harvard Square for the second time. All are welcome to bring a speaker, load up one of the official audio tracks from unsilentnight.com, and join in.

“Unsilent Night” doesn’t require any professional musicians to perform, only a critical mass of people with speakers and, at least in these climes, a tolerance for cold.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe · All coverage of this story