Client: University of York

Overview

The Singing Stone celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Department of Music at the University of York, England. It also commemorates Dame Janet Baker’s Chancellorship of the University from 1991 – 2004, her career as a world renound singer, and her continuing support of the Department of Music. Incorporating words from Dame Janet’s favourite poem, W. B. Yeats’ The Cloths of Heaven, the sculpture has been carved from a 7 metre long glacial granite boulder from Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. It was unveiled on campus on 13 June 2015, the 150th birthday of WB Yeats.

Process

The project was a collaboration between artist Gordon Young and graphic designers Why Not Associates. The granite boulder was carved and the lettering sandblasted in Hull by fabricator Andy Sawyer and stonemason George Saris.