Sunday: Black Hole Symphony at the National Academy of Sciences
From the upcoming Black Hole Symphony on Nov. 5, composer David Ibbett wants you to be as moved as he is by the complexity and beauty of our universe. A chance encounter between Ibbett, who is equally passionate about science as he is music, and Anna Barnacka, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), led to the birth of an epic multidisciplinary project to explore black holes through sound. “Black Holes are not just cosmic vacuum cleaners, sucking in everything in sight,” Ibbett tells City Paper. “Instead, they are engines of light and creation, living at the hearts of galaxies, including our own.” They decided to share this story through the universal language of music. In collaboration with the CfA and Black Hole Initiative, this symphony is an immersive new production from the Museum of Science, Boston, and the Multiverse Concert Series. It’s been so well received in Massachusetts—selling out all 13 performances so far, Ibbett says—that their team is excited to partner with the National Academy of Sciences to share the piece with national audiences in D.C. —Irene Bantigue