In 1980, the artist Paul Matisse installed Musical Fence, an interactive sound sculpture, on the city streets of Cambridge. The tuned aluminum chimes of the Musical Fence invited passersby to ring them as they walked along, or to stop, stand, and take a moment to play them more deliberately. The community loved the fence; it now resides within the walls of the DeCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln.

With the help of a grant from the Medford Arts Council and many other community supporters, the Pickup Music Project (PuMP) is reviving the spirit of Matisse’s work, installing two musical fences in Torbert Macdonald Park near Wellington Circle.

PuMP, led by Tufts University graduate Daniel Joseph, is a team of musicians, engineers, programmers and craftsmen who create public spaces for spontaneous, pickup music making, similar to the way public basketball courts allow for pickup basketball. They make such spaces by building interactive sound sculptures that invite participation from folks of all musical levels.

The public is invited to a ribbon cutting and be among the first to play the Mystic Musical Fence.