Phil Kline’s FORCE OF NATURE (FEBRUARY) To Have PS21 World Premiere As Part Of The Dark Festival

PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance to present the world premiere of FORCE OF NATURE (FEBRUARY), a new outdoor participatory work by composer Phil Kline, on Monday, February 16, 2026. The event is part of PS21’s inaugural winter festival THE DARK and takes place on the organization’s rural grounds, a former apple orchard in Chatham, New York.

FORCE OF NATURE (FEBRUARY) is a living sound sculpture performed by its audience. Participants gather at 4:30 p.m. at the Pavilion Theater at PS21 and begin a guided walk at 5:00 p.m., moving through the landscape as darkness falls. As they walk, participants play interlocking tracks of Kline’s score using cassette players, speakers, or phones, collectively forming a mobile orchestra. The work runs approximately 45 minutes and is free to attend.

A dedicated Force of Nature app will be available after February 1 to allow participants to play the score on their phones, ideally paired with a portable speaker for outdoor listening. Kline will attend the premiere and provide a selection of vintage boomboxes preloaded with cassette recordings, as well as cassettes for those bringing their own tape players. The PS21 barns and structures will also contribute amplified sound as the audience moves across the grounds.

Commissioned by PS21 under new Executive and Artistic Director Vallejo Ganter, FORCE OF NATURE (FEBRUARY) is the first in a pair of seasonal works by Kline. The second installment, FORCE OF NATURE (JUNE), is scheduled to take place at dawn on June 21, 2026.

While Kline is widely known for Unsilent Night, his long-running urban soundwalk performed worldwide since 1992, this new work takes a distinctly rural approach, responding to winter darkness, open land, and communal movement through space.

THE DARK runs February 16–22 and unfolds at PS21 and across Columbia County, with performances and installations presented in theaters, restaurants, libraries, saunas, and outdoor public spaces. The festival features more than 60 International Artists and over 80 events exploring winter as a time of solitude, community, darkness, and light.

FORCE OF NATURE (FEBRUARY)