Garden of Memory

The annual Garden of Memory summer solstice concert began in 1995 when Sarah Cahill was writing a cover story for the East Bay Express about public bathrooms of the East Bay.

In search of interesting bathrooms, she wandered into the Chapel of the Chimes and heard some distant organ music as she got lost in the maze of the building. Inspired by that combination of sensory stimuli, she conceived the notion of a walk-through concert held in the labyrinthine, where Julia Morgan designed the columbarium. Amazingly, the Chapel of the Chimes agreed to host the first event and has co-sponsored it ever since.

This “walk-through fun house of musical and visual splendor” features simultaneous performances in different spaces within the building by an eclectic collection of musicians presenting various acoustic and electronic music, installations, and interactive events. Getting lost is part of the experience as visitors move freely through the multilevel maze of gardens, cloisters, alcoves, stairwells, fountains, and other architectural elements, which rise into vaulted ceilings.

Chapel of the Chimes

Chapel of the Chimes is the largest above-ground cemetery (mausoleum) west of the Mississippi. Originally a streetcar station, it was transformed into the California Memorial Crematorium and Columbarium in 1909. The property was expanded and transformed initially by Julia Morgan and later by Aaron Green, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Oakland Historical Landmark today continues to provide complete end-of-life services, part of a family of four premier Bay Area cemeteries, columbariums, crematories, mausoleums, and funeral homes. From traditional to personalized, Chapel of the Chimes assists the diverse families of Northern California to fully memorialize and celebrate a life lived.

The multilevel building is built onto a hillside between Piedmont Avenue and Howe Street, as the performers play simultaneously. There are three separate design sections created by four architects: Cunningham & Politeo, 1909, Julia Morgan, 1926-1951 (consulting until her retirement in 1951), Aaron Green, 1956-1986; and JST Architects, 1986-1998. In the older section, the complexity of chapels, columbaria, and mausoleum areas is adorned with murals, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, California tile, and 16th-century antiquities. All architectural and garden areas have excellent acoustics and are illuminated by gentle natural light, often through beautiful arrangements of stained glass.

New Music Bay Area

New Music Bay Area (formerly “20th Century Forum”) was founded in 1989 to celebrate the exciting world of new music in the Bay Area. Its mission is to support and extend the legacy of the Bay Area new music community and its proud traditions by fostering new works and projects.

Since 1996, New Music Bay Area has hosted the Garden of Memory walk-through concert every June 21st in partnership with the Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland.