In collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Philharmonic presents Dehlinger's Cosmic Cycles in May 2023. This musical exploration of the universe and its origins will be performed live against the backdrop of out-of-this-world images from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes.
There will be two performances of Dehlinger's magnum opus:
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May 11, 2023 - at Capital One Hall in Tysons, VA at 7:30 PM
- May 13, 2023 - at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD at 8:00 PM
NatPhil's collaborations with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center are among its most well-attended concert events. It is especially popular with children, who can enjoy educational materials in the lobby before and after the concert and during intermission.
“There’s a massive screen above the stage where the imagery will be projected and the orchestra underneath,” says NatPhil conductor Piotr Gajewski about the cinematic setup. “It’s a very large orchestra, maybe 90, almost 100 musicians because there are some very special instruments: harps, celesta, lots of different percussion, English horn, contrabassoon.”
"NASA has made a huge impact on our culture," Dehlinger says. "At Goddard, they have seven animators on staff and a full production operation whose sole mission is to share NASA’s most exciting science stories with wide and diverse audiences."
"In the past, our friends at Goddard created visualizations to accompany iconic musical works that evoke space, such as Gustav Holst's The Planets," Dehlinger continues. "This time, the NASA Goddard team will create the visualizations first. Then I compose the music. Cosmic Cycles will be a series of visual tone poems that contain neither dialogue nor vocalized narration. Its tone will be set by the juxtaposition of stunning images and original music."
The new symphonic suite will consist of seven movements:
- The Sun, Source of Life
- Earth, Our Home Planet
- The Moon, Our Barren Satellite
- Changing Seasons
- Planetary Fantasia
- The Travelers
- Echoes of the Big Bang
For more on Henry Dehlinger, please visit https://HenryDehlinger.com/about.
From NatPhil’s 2022-23 Season Announcement:
Join National Philharmonic for a season full of familiar favorites, out-of-this-world new works, and pops performances featuring some of the best and brightest starts in the biz. Highlights include:
- World-premiere works by composers Henry Dehlinger and Adolphus Hailstork,
- Performances of choral-orchestral masterpieces by Berlioz, Handel, J.S. Bach, and Orff with the National Philharmonic Chorale under the direction of Music Director Piotr Gajewski and Chorale Artistic Director Stan Engebretson,
- Performances of symphonies by Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Farrenc, Mahler, Beethoven, and a special 150th birthday tribute to Rachmaninoff,
- Renowned guest artists, including violinists Gil Shaham and Sarah Chang; tenor Norman Shankle; pianists Claire Huangci and Brian Ganz; and more,
- Appearances by celebrated Broadway performers: singers Stephanie J. Block and Michael Maliakel and Christopher Jackson and Aisha Jackson; and dancer Luke Hawkins, under the direction of Principal Pops Conductor Luke Frazier.
For more on NatPhil’s 2022-23 season, please visit: https://nationalphilharmonic.org/season-2223/.