What makes “Brownstone,” as an evening-long event and as an individual piece of music, different is “that individual audience members have near total control over how they experience and hear the work,”

“The Phillips Collection had an artsy, New York vibe on Sunday when the Metropolis Ensemble took over the place, literally.”

In the Upper East Side townhouse that the American Irish Historical Society calls home, a violinist ambled down the stairs while tuning her instrument and a harpist improvised with electronic sounds that came from the walls.

The New York-based ensemble, with roots in Maine, will perform at the Portland mansion on Oct. 3.

“Pro Sound Effects is participating in a unique, location-specific music concert called Brownstone, conceived by the New York City-based chamber orchestra Metropolis Ensemble.”