Science, sound and space combine in symphony and film Experience
Glacier Symphony and astronomer and filmmaker Jose Francisco Salgado present The Planets and Outer Space Film Experience at the Wachholz College Center in Kalispell on Saturday and Sunday. Pictured, is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing the event at Millennium Park. (Photo provided by Glacier Symphony)
Emmy-nominated astronomer, filmmaker and visual artist Jose Francisco Salgado will give pre-concert lectures to discuss the music and science behind his films Saturday and Sunday at the Wachholz College Center as part of the Planets and Outer Space Film Experience. Salgado will also be presenting this programming to more than 400 middle and high school students at Flathead High School Friday. (Courtesy photo)
Acclaimed Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev stops in Kalispell during his tri-continental tour to perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C at the Wachholz College Center Saturday and Sunday in recognition of the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth. (Photo provided)
Promising to be the “ultimate fusion of science and sound,” Glacier Symphony Orchestra and Chorale presents The Planets and Outer Space Film Experience event this weekend.
Glacier Symphony will perform “The Planets,” an orchestral suite by English composer Gustav Holst, while a breathtaking film by Emmy-nominated astronomer, filmmaker and visual artist Jose Francisco Salgado plays on the big screen.
The film journeys through outer space, examining each planet, the sun, and beyond, featuring visuals from NASA and the European Space Agency. This Science and Symphony film, produced by Salgado, is known for its finely tuned choreography with the music.
Salgado, who co-founded the nonprofit science and arts education organization KV 265, “collaborates with orchestras, composers and musicians to present films that provoke curiosity and a sense of wonder about Earth and the universe,” according to his biography josefrancisco.org. The Science and Symphony films have been presented to more than 474,000 people in 21 countries.
Salgado will give pre-concert lectures to discuss the music and science behind his films from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, and from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.
The concerts will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Written from 1914 to 1916, during World War I, “The Planets” is an other-worldy massive work consisting of seven movements — Mars, the Bringer of War; Venus, the Bringer of Peace; Mercury, the Winged Messenger; Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity; Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age; Uranus, the Magician and Neptune, the Mystic.
The event will include a performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor by acclaimed Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev. Composed in 1901, the concerto is regarded as “one of the most beautiful and technically demanding works for solo piano and orchestra,” according to a press release from Glacier Symphony. The performance is in recognition of the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth.
“Ilya will bring his interpretive insight and considerable technique to the interpretation of this, perhaps Rachmaninoff’s greatest work for piano and orchestra,” the release said.
The event will be held in McClaren Hall at the Wachholz College Center on the Flathead Valley Community College campus.
Tickets may be purchased online at the www.waccholzcollegecenter.org, by calling 407-7000 or visiting the Glacier Symphony box office at 1031 S. Main St., Kalispell.
