With a collection of 1,500 albums of Christmas music, Christian Marclay, pioneer of the experimental turntable movement, is heading to the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) to introduce Milwaukee to his annual international party and art installation, "The Sounds of Christmas."

As an intersection of art and music, Marclay challenges six local DJs to create new music using only the collection of albums on-site. From Bing Crosby's "Christmas with Bing," to Abbot and Costello's "Christmas Stocking," to more than 30 versions of "The Little Drummer Boy," each DJ must create live remixes of their own selection to supply a soundtrack for the space.

Last year this installation was at the Tate Modern Museum in London, and now, for the first time, it's here in Milwaukee on Friday, Dec. 9, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and performances starting at 7 p.m.

Marclay, a musician who helped start the music sampling movement in New York in 1980, was in Milwaukee last summer as his "Video Quartet" was the seminal work in MAM's feature exhibition, "CUT/Film as Found Object." The piece was created by editing clips from more than 700 individual film and video works like music notes to create an entirely new piece of music.

But according to MAM's communications coordinator Katie Heldstab, Milwaukee has never had something like "The Sounds of Christmas" before.

"Milwaukee landed this event essentially when Christian Marclay was here last," says Heldstab. "He was giving a lecture (about 'Video Quartet') to a packed crowd at the museum, and before he was finished he mentioned his 'The Sounds of Christmas' event. MAM Director and CEO David Gordon jokingly said, 'Why don't you have it here?' So here we are, with one heck of a party on our hands!"

The DJs -- which were organized by WMSE's Station Manager Tom Crawford -- are divided up among three evenings at the Museum. The opening reception on Dec. 9 features a short set by Marclay, Jim Scheonecker and Chris Rosenau from Collections of Colonies of Bees and Fortune. Dec. 15 features DJ Mad Hatter of the Rusty Ps and WMSE founding father Paul Host. Dec. 22 will have DJ Whitebread and Addict Records' Doormouse putting a new spin on holiday music.

Besides London, this installation has also taken place in Glasgow, Scotland, in Ireland and in New York City.

"I had a chance to talk to Marclay when he was here last and he was very impressed with our city," says Heldstab. "He rode the bus everywhere and everyone was really nice to him. He was happy to come back to Milwaukee."

"The Sounds of Christmas" is located in the Contemporary Galleries, and is free with general MAM admission ($8 for adults, $6 seniors and $4 students). Call MAM at (414) 224-3200.