WIZZ MAGAZINE
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45
THE NETHERLANDS
BERGEN
TheSculptor
A trainedchef,ConnecticutnativeBillCovitz
beganmaking ice sculptures toaccompany
buffetsandbanquets.Then, aftera stint
workingwithamaster icecarver inBoston, he
decided itwas time foracareerchange.
“At thatmoment I reallyknewwhat I
wanted todo,”he says. “I fell in lovewith the
art, and I fell in lovewith thework.Not the
backbreaking, gruntingpartof it,”he jokes,
“but thecreative side.”
Covitzwenton toopenhisown studio in
Connecticut, creatingelaborate icecarvings
forweddingsandcorporate functions.One
day, anAmericanmarimbaplayergot in touch,
saying thathe’dbeenasked toperformat an
ice festival inNorway.Covitz flewalong to
lendahand (ice instrumentsdon’t travel very
well, afterall) andhe’sbeen involvedwith the
festival ever since.
Armedwithamodifiedchainsawand
precisionpower tools,hecrafts fully
functioning instrumentsoutofNorwegian ice.
Harps,horns, cellos,drums–youname it,he’s
created it for the festival. “Therearen’t too
many instruments Ihaven’tbeenable todoyet,”
hesays. “Althoughwith thestring instruments,
we’recheatingabit–youhave toput real strings
on them. I can’tmake icestrings!”
The iceCovitzusescomes from twomain
sources:bigblocksarehauled in fromanother
partofNorway,whilehigher-quality ice(essential
tomake the likesofmarimbasandchimesreally
sing) issawnoutofa lakenearGeilo.
“Sometimes it’sgreat, sometime it’snot,”
saysCovitz. “That’s the reallybeautiful thing
about ice: youneverknow. Everyyear is
different. Even fromonepond toanother, the
icecan soundcompletelydifferent.”
