Origins: Life and the Universe
The mysteries of the cosmos were explored in Origins: Life and the Universe, an innovative multi-media concert held November 7, 2015, at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Wash. This event set rich melodic compositions against spectacular high-resolution film creatively assembled from video and still imagery sent back from space. The all-original music enhanced the visual experience, as colors and shapes faded and merged, and some of the most beautiful objects in space came dramatically to life, synchronized to the sound.
The concert’s video component used photos and films of the most recent discoveries in astronomy. Photographic material was supplied by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, European Southern Observatory, European Space Agency, IRFU-CEA in Paris, NOAA, University of Washington and other collaborating institutes around the globe.
Each musical composition explored a different cosmic topic, from the Big Bang to the Oort Cloud to the evolution of stars. The eight featured composers were: Nan Avant, Barry Dowsett, Eric Goetz, Stan LePard, Howard Mostrom, Glenna Burmer, Tim Huling and Kohl Hebert, a 12-year-old musical prodigy in his orchestral premiere. The concert was presented by Burmer Music and The Composition Lab, and staged as part of the 50th anniversary year of the University of Washington’s Astrobiology Program and Department of Astronomy.
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“Star trek: Astrobiologists and composers join forces for Origins,” Seattle Times, 11/2/15
“The Universe in Music and Images,” Perspectives, Sept. 2015