Arts and Music (Audio)

William Forsythe is the 2024 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy. He is a choreographer whose work has extended ballet to a dynamic contemporary art form. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as director of Ballet Frankfurt. After the closure of the Ballet Frankfurt in 2004, Forsythe established a new, more independent ensemble, The Forsythe Company, which he directed from 2005 to 2015. Betw...

Let’s celebrate the Universe – astoundingly beautiful and mind-boggling in scope. Space telescopes orbit Earth, turning their crisp optics to the stars of our Milky Way galaxy...and the hundreds of billions of galaxies beyond. Our minds cannot comprehend this vastness. Yet the beauty and diversity fill our hearts, as revealed by such stunning photos. For the music, we share Bach’s immortal “Art of...

For Earth Day, we release the glorious Earth Harmony Sonata. It features Earth photography by astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who just returned from their extended stay on the ISS. Wilmore captures a mesmerizing flight path from equatorial Africa, over the Sahara and Middle East and on up to Armenia. Williams took over 10,000 photographs, with a sensitive and artistic eye. Here are 60...

Working with award-winning educators Javier Montiel and Emi Bahena, students from the International Aerospace Academy made this delightful movie as part of our Earth Serenade series. The students are dancing as if in space, while celebrating five countries that sent astronauts to the International Space Station. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40663]

Inspiration4 was the first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth, resulting in these powerful photographs by Chris Sembroski who served as humanity’s eyes. The video was captured by astronaut Matthew Dominick from the ISS during Expedition 72. Earth's images are set to music composed and performed by Hiroshi Ebina, a Japanese sound artist creating electronic/ambient music. Enjoy this orbital magic....

Join Sameer Patel for To the Stars, featuring Anton Webern's Passacaglia for Orchestra, and Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 3. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39116]

Astronaut and photographer Don Pettit took these stunningly beautiful photos of the Caribbean with its incomparable island blues and clouds on October 3, 2024, aboard ISS 72. Also full of incomparable beauty are Bach’s Motets. The voices soar with joy and reverence, especially in this recording by Solomon’s Knot, a British ensemble. Here we present “Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf” (Dear Lord God,...

This film explores the dynamic fusion of science, art and historic collections, set against the stunning backdrop of La Jolla’s hidden underwater world of giant kelp forests. Five artists talks about their unique perspectives captured in the exhibition "Ebb and Flow: Giant Kelp Forests through Art, Science and the Archive," at UC San Diego's Geisel Library. Produced by Mary Ann Beyster, with assis...

On this flight aboard the International Space Station, we look out at a SpaceX Dragon at night. In the background, we see mysterious views of Earth's lights, lightning and moon rise. Astronaut Don Pettit took these dream-like time-lapse photos of city lights and clouds – each 30 second exposures – creating these fantastical images. The music is Bach’s Et Misericordia (“and mercy”), in a stunning p...

Under the direction of Steven Schick, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus explores profound human emotions through music. The program includes the world premiere of Nasim Khorassani's new commissioned work. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40586]

Clouds spark our imaginations. As we fly over Earth, clouds provide beauty, harmony, drama, and reveal Earth’s stories. From orbit, even night clouds offer their intrigues, as in this flight from the ISS Expedition 41 with clouds dancing over Europe at night. Clouds also serve as metaphor, embraced in this music by Steve Thomas featuring the stirring vocals of Patty Barkas. When we have trouble co...

B Side Players is an American band formed in 1994. The band incorporates the sounds of Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil with the funk, rock, jazz and hip-hop rhythms of their homeland. The band also drops a bit of Cumbia, gritty street Samba, Son Montuno and Jarocho into the mix. Described as War meets Lenny Kravitz by way of Ben Harper, the players have expanded their sound by playing with the li...

This haunting music, from a world-premiere performance by Seraphim, transports us from a hill on the ground to the stars above. With lyrics by Sara Teasdale and original composition by Patricia Van Ness, the music envelopes in the majesty of the universe. Astronauts on ISS 41 photographed the rotating sky in the middle of this piece. The aurora at the beginning and end were photographed on ISS 72...

Composer Bruce Lazarus's Sanctuary is truly atmospheric and speaks to the marvels of space. Astronaut Jeannette Epps took these images of eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean aboard ISS 71 on May 18, 2024, capturing the diverse views of land and sea, jungles and deserts, lakes and rivers. Earth is a sanctuary for all of humanity, indeed all of life. A sanctuary planet we must revere and protect. Se...

Under the direction of Arian Khaefi, "Holy Radiant Light" highlights Sergei Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil, a masterpiece of the a cappella repertoire. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39117]

This flight path perfectly aligns with South America’s Pacific Coast. The whole coast is dry, revealing a beautiful range of colors of the land below. Clouds tell the story, as the moist wind comes in over the Pacific, then the clouds dissipate as the air rises over the Andes Mountains, and clouds reform over the land beyond. Steve Thomas wonderful Guitarscapes, with soulful electric guitar enhanc...

Led by Sameer Patel, Nexus features a symphonic and choral journey with Lili Boulanger's D’un matin de printemps. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39115]

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi captured this Earth movie from ISS Expedition 69 on August 20, 2023, beginning with sunrise over the Atlantic clouds, then on to Europe, Saudi Arabia and dusk over the Indian Ocean. The movie is set to the inspiring music of the choral group Seraphim and composer Timothy C. Takach, recorded live in Chestnut Hill, MA. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 4051...

This engaging panel discussion delves into the evolving representation of autistic characters in literature, comics, and pop culture, featuring authors and creators who bring authentic perspectives to their work. The conversation highlights the importance of intentionality in storytelling, challenges stereotypes, and explores the nuances of portraying neurodiverse experiences with depth and empath...

Astronauts witness stars in full glory – without the haze of atmosphere. A stunning site that fills us all with wonder and awe. Astronaut Matthew Dominick, in the crew of ISS 71, took these stunning photos with his camera pointed up at the stars, instead of down at Earth, in September, 2024. The movie is set to the music of Catherine Brisset who plays the Cristal Baschet with her personal adaptati...

A glimpse of gospel, jazz, and soul from the great legends is what inspires the sound of pianist Theron Brown’s music. But the reason he plays is to encourage and influence people through his talents. Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Theron currently resides in Akron, Ohio, where he is Professor of Practice at The University of Akron teaching jazz piano, and the program coordinator for Curated St...

San Diego artist and graphic designer Ron Miriello's new art installation "Found Adrift" is inspired by a scrapbook of seaweed. The exquisite collection was gathered by an unknown young woman from Searsport, Maine, in 1876. Tucked away in a trunk for almost 150 years, it was rediscovered by Richard Rydell, a local collector and lifelong friend of Miriello's. The intricate beauty captured in the or...

Enjoy the creativity of astronaut Don Pettit, currently on his 4th mission aboard the ISS, as he captures surreal photos of Earth. His long-duration exposures reveal tracks of urban night lights as the ISS passes over. The stars show their own curving pattern, and the aurora adds even more mystery. This magical dance is accompanied by the music of Chilean composer Mario Quiroga. He is a “musico-te...

Under the direction of Steven Schick, A Broken Hallelujah explores profound human emotions through music. The program includes the world premiere of Nasim Khorassani's new work, and Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39114]

An unstoppable behind the scenes force of musical nature since his 1994 breakthrough as a producer with “Sweet Sensual Love,” Big Mountain’s follow-up to their smash “Baby I Love Your Way,” and keyboardist on their Reggae Sunsplash tour, Kevin Flournoy has amassed a dizzyingly prolific all-star resume in the jazz, pop and R&B realms over the past three decades. Kevin has written, performed or reco...