Bill Fontana
Bill Fontana (born April 25, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio) is known internationally for his pioneering experiments in sound art.
Bill Fontana

Manfred Werner - Tsui · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Bill Fontana
- Born
- April 25, 1947
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
- Occupation
- American composer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- music · visual arts · sound art
- Education
- John Carroll University · The New School
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship · Artadia Award · National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
- Languages
- English
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Bill Fontana (born April 25, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio) is known internationally for his pioneering experiments in sound art.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q2903211 · wikipedia · Bill Fontana
In this article
Biography
Biography
Bill Fontana studied at John Carroll University and The New School. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is music, visual arts and sound art. Work by Bill Fontana is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship, Artadia Award and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Bill Fontana • Born — April 25, 1947 • Birthplace — Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. • Occupation — American composer
Life and career
Life and career
Fontana attended the New School for Social Research in New York and studied both music and philosophy. He traveled to Australia, and also stayed in Japan and Germany composing. Fontana began making sound sculptures in 1976. In a career spanning 40 years, Fontana's sound sculptures use the urban environment as a living source of musical information, all with the potential to conjure up visual imagery in the mind of the listener. He has made works all over the world and has presented his sound sculptures extensively, including at the Venice Biennale (1999), the Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid (1995), The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1991), Tate Modern, London (2006), Madison Square Park, New York (2007), and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1987, 1997, 2010). Some of his more famous works include Distant Trains, Satellite Ear Bridge Cologne-San Francisco, Journey Through My Sound Sculptures, The Sound of an Unblown Flute, Panoramic Echoes and "Acoustical Visions of the Golden Gate Bridge" In 2005, Fontana was an Artadia Awardee. Fontana recently won the Prix Ars Electronica Collide@CERN Prize, 2012–2013 where is developing a sound sculpture at CERN in Geneva called "Acoustic Time Travel" to be realized in September 2014 for the 60th Anniversary of CERN.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1947
Bill Fontana born at Cleveland.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Fontana, Bill, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2011
- Fontana, Bill, Oxford Music Online, 2001
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2001
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2903211: Bill Fontana
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Bill Fontana”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Fontana, Bill, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Fontana, Bill, Oxford Music Online, 2001Crossref registry
Institutional witnessauthority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Bill Fontana received Guggenheim Fellowship, Artadia Award and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Recorded with the occupation composer. Recorded as having received Guggenheim Fellowship, Artadia Award and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.
Recognition and collections
Work by Bill Fontana is
Museum of Modern Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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