Performance: “Score for the Big Bang”

Location:

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
800 S Cathedral Pl, Richmond, VA 23220

Date & Time:

October 12, 2018
7:30 pm

Tickets:

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On October 12th, the sound of the Big Bang will be sung by over eighty vocalists in a historic cathedral in Richmond, Virginia. The sound of the Big Bang was determined in 2003 by astronomer Dr. Mark Whittle using data from the WMAP satellite. For Score for the Big Bang, conceptual artist Ander Mikalson worked with Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw to translate this sound into musical notation. The piece is 8 minutes long—approximately two minutes for every one-hundred-thousand years of the early universe. It will be performed by singers from the Richmond Symphony Chorus, VCU Commonwealth Singers, Handel Choir and Third Practice, directed by Erin Freeman and Brian Bartoldus, and accompanied on a century-old pipe organ by Daniel Sanez. Astronomer Mark Whittle will lead the audience on a guided tour of the early universe, culminating in a live immersive performance of the primordial sound. Intertwining human history with the history of the universe, Score for the Big Bang explores the meaning of existence through the original instrument, that primal medium of devotion and despair—the human voice.

FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC (No Tickets Required)

Previous Performance:

Score for the Big Bang premiered on April 13, 2012 at St. James’s Church in Richmond, VA, performed by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Commonwealth Singers