TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
PRESENTS

THE PLANETS: AN HD ODYSSEY
The University of Texas Wind Ensemble,
Jerry Junkin, conductor
Women of the UT Chamber Singers,
James Morrow, director
Women of the UT Concert Chorale,
Suzanne Pence, director

GUSTAV HOLST’S CLASSIC WORK PAIRED WITH SPECTACULAR HD FOOTAGE FROM NASA

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2012, 7:00 P.M.
AT BASS CONCERT HALL

6:00 PM PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE BY DR. FRANK BASH
IN THE BASS CONCERT HALL LOBBY

PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BUTLER SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and the Executive Vice President and Provost of The University of Texas at Austin.

“The footage has been carefully selected to harmonize with the music…It’s like a grown up Fantasia, with extra scientific accuracy thrown in.” The Independent (London)

“¬Photographs from rovers and satellites, radar images and ¬computer-generated ¬graphics were combined to give the audience the impression of circling individual planets and sometimes ¬flying over their awesomely barren landscapes…There is, of course, a ¬film-score-like quality to the music, and combining it with imagery has been done ¬before, though not to my mind with such sophistication.” – The New York Times

Experience a powerful performance of composer Gustav Holst’s The Planets paired with a high-definition film from NASA’s latest exploration of the solar system. On a giant screen over the stage you’ll see the latest stunning images from the Mars Rovers and past probe missions Magellan, Voyager, and Galileo, as the UT Wind Ensemble and Women of the UT Chamber Singers and Concert Chorale perform Holst’s glorious musical score.

Commissioned by the Houston Symphony and created by filmmaker Duncan Copp, in cooperation with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratories, The Planets – An HD Odyssey adds a spectacular visual element to Gustav Holst’s ¬cosmic masterpiece. Copp is best known as the producer of In the Shadow of the Moon, a 2006 documentary film on the U.S. manned missions to the Moon, which was presented by Ron Howard and ¬introduced at the Sundance Film Festival.

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble, under the leadership of Jerry Junkin, has firmly established itself as one of America’s elite wind bands. In addition to The Planets, the program will include Ron Nelson’s exciting Rocky Point Holiday and Drum Music by John Mackey, featuring faculty percussion soloist Tom Burritt.

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT

Pre-Performance Lecture by Dr. Frank Bash
• Sunday 10/21/12, 6:00 pm in the Bass Concert Hall Lobby

Dr. Frank Bash, Frank N. Edmonds, Jr. Regents Professor Emeritus in Astronomy, served from 1989-2003 as director of McDonald Observatory, one of the world’s foremost astronomical research institutions and a pioneer in public outreach and informal science education.

For more information on this performance, please visit http://texasperformingarts.org*/season/the-planets-austin.*

CALENDAR LISTING
Sunday, October 21, 2012, 7:00 pm –Texas Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Austin presents The Planets: An HD Odyssey at Bass Concert Hall (E. 23rd St. and Robert Dedman Dr.) A map of the campus: texasperformingarts.org/visit/maps_directions. Tickets ($36 – $42 / Limited $10 student tickets / discounted tickets available for UT faculty & staff, seniors and Military) are on sale now at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.

PRESS CONTACT:
Gene Bartholomew; 512.471.0632;
gbartholomew@TexasPerformingArts.org