“In C” is a seminal minimalist composition created by Terry Riley while he rode the bus. Now you can hear it performed live — and maybe even join in  — on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. at Monument Circle. 

Organized by Indianapolis musician Danny Marquis — one of this year’s SPARK on the Circle artists in residence — this improvisational performance of “In C” is free to enjoy. 

If you’d like to play along, join us by 1:30 p.m. at the SPARK park and bring your instrument. Whatever it is. We’ll provide sheet music for Riley’s 1964 composition that directs any number of musicians to repeat a series of 53 melodic fragments in a guided improvisation. Don’t worry, Danny will show you how it works. 

“In C” is intended for an ensemble of as many players on as many instruments as possible. And  performers can be at any skill level — as long as they’re willing to listen big and simply play.

PLAY! Make sound for the joy and love of it. Listen to what emerges.

When Riley was writing the song on the bus, perhaps the rumblings of the engine and the many sounds of the city combined in such a way that a greater melody could emerge. It’s from precisely this kind of overlapping potential chaos that “In C” gains its signature sound.

See you at Monument Circle on Sept. 13!