Jill Tracy is honored to make history as the first musician to ever be awarded a grant from the Wood Institute, College of Physicians of Philadelphia to compose music inside the famed Mütter Museum, (the nation’s foremost collection of medical oddities) a series of compositions directly inspired by pieces in the collection. (Above photograph of Jill Tracy in the College of Physicians of Philadelphia by Evi Numen.)
“This is a dream come true project for me,” explains Jill Tracy. “It was vital for me to be in the presence of these long-lost souls, as I composed and recorded. I needed to immerse myself in their world. There is so much lurking here. This glorious synergy– the collection of souls together from various time periods and walks of life, most who endured extreme and rare medical conditions. I needed to be with them as I composed and make them a real part of the creation. This is my gift to them.
All of my work will be factual. I’m in the throes of extensive research at the museum, even utilizing excerpts from letters and doctors’ records. My goal is to evoke the spirit, set a mood that transports you inside just by listening.”
Read Jill Tracy’s BLOG “An Excavation of Musical Spirits,” as she discusses her inspirations and plans for composing in the Mütter Museum. Plus a fantastic in-depth interview about the project with Cristina Zuazua in Chain D.L.K. Magazine.
JILL TRACY featured on Mütter Museum’s TV Series “No Bones About It.”
Mütter Museum director Robert Hicks interviews Jill Tracy in the latest episode of “No Bones About It.” This fascinating and fun discussion covers her passion of composing music in odd and mysterious environments, the musical seance, spontaneous combustion, violet ray generators, spirits within objects, and how her artistry and the Mütter Museum are such a perfect match! Watch the show on Jill Tracy's YouTube Channel.
(from the 2012 news archives...)