An extraordinary concert tonight at Barcelona's l'Auditori, where local new music ensemble bcn216 and London's Synergy Vocals just finished performing Steve Reich's "Music For 18 Musicians" to officially open Sonar 2011. As a NYer, its easy to take this modern masterpiece for granted, as we have the chance to hear it in NYC on a fairly regular basis. Here, though, it is completely unfamiliar except on recordings, and tonight's performance had all the hallmarks of a seismic event in the life of this city, and especially this festival.

But, don't take my word for it: its been over for 20 minutes, and patrons are still humming the pulses. Or, listen to what my next-seat neighbor - a Brit - had to say:

"Such a rich experience. Amazing how the singers voices filled the space. So glad we came!"

More pics to come.