Cold Hollow Sculpture Park to Premiere First Commissioned Musical Work

Site-Specific Composition “Tuning, Timing, Resonance” by Composer Phil Acimovic to be Performed Live in the Park on August 15, 2026 

Enosburg, VT – Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, a nonprofit arts park dedicated to fostering connections between contemporary art, nature, and community, is pleased to announce a landmark artistic initiative: a newly commissioned, site-specific musical composition by composer and educator Phil Acimovic, to be performed as part of the Park’s 2026 season.

Acimovic, who first made history as the Park’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence in 2018, returns to premiere Tuning, Timing, Resonance, an original work created in direct response to the Park’s landscape, acoustics, and sculptural environment. This marks a significant expansion of Cold Hollow Sculpture Park’s interdisciplinary programming, introducing sound as a central element of the visitor experience. 

Performances will take place on August 15, 2026, at 1 p.m. and at 4 p.m., featuring Acimovic and a quartet of musicians performing in dialogue with David Stromeyer’s sculpture Potluck and the surrounding meadows. Each performance will be preceded by a hands-on workshop exploring tuning and resonance, inviting visitors to engage directly with the concepts shaping the work. The workshops will take place at 11 a.m. to noon and again from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Details and registration are available on the Park’s website. 

“Cold Hollow offers a unique environment where sound, space, and landscape are deeply connected,” said Acimovic. “This work is an exploration of how music can emerge from and interact with that environment in real time.” 

A composer and gamelan musician based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Acimovic’s work explores contrasts between stillness and tension through free rhythm and alternative pitch systems. His music has been performed by ensembles including the Empyrean Ensemble and Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and he currently serves as a Lecturer in Music at Yale University.

“This project represents an exciting new dimension of artistic exploration at Cold Hollow,” said Executive Director Robin Schatell. “We are thrilled to support the development of a piece that will activate the landscape in such a unique and meaningful way.”

The premiere of Tuning, Timing, Resonance will take place on August 15, 2026, as part of the Park’s Among the Sculptures programming series. A community celebration will follow the 4 pm performance, at which the public is invited to meet the artists.

For more information, visit www.coldhollowsculpturepark.com or follow @coldhollowsculpturepark on Instagram and Facebook.

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About Cold Hollow Sculpture Park

Founded in 2014 by sculptor David Stromeyer and writer Sarah Stromeyer, Cold Hollow Sculpture Park in Enosburg, Vermont, is an immersive art experience in a beautiful northern Vermont setting. Visitors can take one of the most inspiring walks in Vermont among 70 sculptures spanning five decades by artist David Stromeyer. The Park also offers programming that explores the intersection of intellectual and creative pursuits. The Park is open from mid-June through mid-October, Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.coldhollowsculpturepark.com.

Participating Musician Bios

Chris Castro

Chris Castro is a composer, double bassist, theorist, and educator residing in Southern California. He is a recipient of the 2023 Fromm Music Foundation Commission from Harvard University and Chamber Music America's 2021 Classical Commissioning Award. His music has been described as "on par with Varèse" (anonymous CMA juror) and “at once celebratory and solemn” (San Francisco Classical Voice). His music draws from the rich tradition of Western Art Music, from Johannes Ockeghem's Missa Prolationum to John Coltrane's Ascension. As a new music advocate, Chris serves on the artistic advisory board for the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and the New Mexico Contemporary Ensemble. Chris holds degrees from the Juilliard School (double bass and composition) and a PhD from the University of California, Davis in composition and music theory. He lectures for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Upbeat Live series. He is an Assistant Professor of Composition at Chapman University.

Kyle Rivera

The ever-evolving artistic perspective of Kyle Rivera is fueled by obsessive intrigue and child-like exploration. Kyle is deeply fascinated by visual imagery and narrative in sound as a means of creating windows into the metaphysical realms. Guided by his love of linguistics, spirituality, and media, he treats sound and time as malleable materials to sculpt vivid sonic architectures and intricately unfolding soundscapes. As an artist, Kyle seeks to foster theoretical and practical discussions about the ways music can influence social representation and Othering, often through theatrical works and mythological analogs. Alongside that, he explores the conceptual limits of psychology, spirituality, and consciousness in sound hoping to build a shelter from the real world, to find something new, to laugh, scream, and feel everything all at once while saying nothing at all.

Matthew Gold

Percussionist Matthew Gold is a performer, ensemble director, and educator committed to exploring new sounds and presenting innovative and adventurous programs featuring new voices. He is a member of the acclaimed New York-based contemporary music group Talea Ensemble, with whom he appears across the U.S. and at international festivals, and of the pioneering Talujon percussion group. Mr. Gold is an Artist in Residence in Percussion and Contemporary Music Performance at Williams College where he directs the Williams Percussion Ensemble and is the Artistic Director of the annual I/O Festival of New Music. He serves on the faculty of the Composers Conference and Contemporary Performance Institute at Brandeis University and is an Artist in Residence at the Walden School’s Creative Musicians Retreat. Mr. Gold has been a featured artist on recent festivals including Time:Spans 2019, Le Festival Les Musiques in Marseille, and Festival Musiques Démesurées in Clermont-Ferrand, and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic on its “Philharmonic 360” program at the Park Avenue Armory. He performs regularly with, among others, the Mark Morris Dance Group, the New York City Ballet, and the Albany Symphony.

Julian Drummond

Julian Drummond is a pianist and Javanese gamelan musician from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has performed extensively across the Northeast as a collaborator and soloist as well with some of the renowned Javanese musicians alive today including Darsono Hadiraharjo, Peni Candrarini, Wakidi Dwidjomartono, and I.M. Harjito. Julian’s piano teachers have included Armine Donato, Konstantinos Papadakis, Jonathan Bass, and Gilles Vonsattel. While wearing many different hats as a musician, Julian has at times found himself engaged in political organizing, disinfecting a COVID testing facility, and assembling a basketball court one 280-pound piece a time. Julian enjoys strong coffee, cooking, and old reruns of The Simpsons.