Skip to content
Sound World
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • NEWS
    • Composers
      • Evelyn Glennie
      • Sadie Harrison
      • John Pickard
      • Julian Leeks
      • Anna Meredith
    • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
  • PROJECTS
    • MUSICAL MINDS
    • Reflections & the Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians
      • Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians
    • In The Steps of Apollo
      • Apollo press release
      • In The Steps of Apollo feedback form
      • In The Steps of Apollo Schools’ Tour: feedback form
    • The Composing Club Project
    • YOUNG COMPOSERS’ COMPETITION
    • Beyond The Menagerie…
  • EVENTS
  • Features
    • SOUND WORLD SOUNDS
      • Sally Beamish
      • Sadie Harrison
      • Dame Evelyn Glennie
      • Howard Skempton
      • Anna Meredith
      • Sir James MacMillan
      • Roxanna Panufnik
      • Nico Muhly
    • Podcasts
    • Interview: Geoff Poole
  • OPPORTUNITIES
  • Audio/Video
  • GOVERNANCE
    • PATRONS
  • SUPPORT SOUND WORLD

In The Steps of Apollo

IN THE STEPS OF APOLLO
from the first moon landing to the Universe beyond…

Sound World and the planetarium team at We The Curious, Bristol have created an extraordinary new music and science outreach show, marking the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight to the moon and exploring the future of space travel.

It was premièred on Saturday 20th July at We The Curious, exactly 50 years after Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Apollo 11 touched down on the surface of the moon. Following the première  In The Steps of Apollo was shown at planetaria across the world including Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. A free schools tour was also conducted via a mobile planetarium dome.


The Milky Way

The show was conceived by Sound World to celebrate this remarkable landmark in human exploration and to present the best new music, to a new audience, in a uniquely engaging context. It was then developed in partnership with WTC.

Sound World commissioned 5 composers to write new string quartets while bespoke visuals, depicting five separate journeys through different parts of the solar system, galaxy & universe, were created by Anna Henley.

The stunning combination of exceptional music and beautiful visuals was extremely well received wherever it was shown.

Feedback from UK shows revealed that 39% of respondents felt that the show had a positive effect on how they viewed classical music, with 89% reporting that, based on their experience, they would attend classical music events in the future.

SCHOOL TOUR

Thanks to substantial funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the International Astronomical Union and Arts Council England we were able to run a free tour of the region’s schools. This provided thousands of pupils, aged between 7 and 16, with their first ever experience of classical music. The schools visited were identified with reference to the government report ‘The English Indices of Deprivation 2015’ (DCLG 2015) and ONS statistics on ethnicity.

SCHOOLS’ FEEDBACK

Extensive feedback was collected reflecting the experiences of over 2000 pupils. They were asked to rate their experiences on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best result).

96% recorded 4 or 5 for both enjoyment and excitement.
72% recorded 4 or 5 for their enjoyment of the music.

They were also asked contextual questions about previous experience and future intensions.

83% had never experienced classical music before (100% had not experienced contemporary classical music!).
97% said they would like to go to similar events in future.

PARTNERS

  • We The Curious. The planetarium is part of We The Curious (WTC), Bristol’s interactive science centre and educational charity. WTC offers theme days, science shows, hands on exhibitions and science workshops. It works extensively with local schools by providing unique, enriching science experiences, designed to spark interest and build confidence. It has an exceptional track record of outreach work and public engagement. The planetarium itself is a state-of-the-art facility, one of the finest in Europe and the UK’s first 3-D planetarium.
We The Curious Planetarium
  • Explorer Dome. A Bristol science outreach organisation with an international reputation. They are know for their vibrant, highly informative, presenter-led shows.

PROJECT DETAILS

Date:
Summer 2019 and beyond. The first showings of In The Steps of Apollo will be timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing on 20th July 2019.

Venue:
Initially We The Curious, Bristol. The show will also be rendered for use at planetaria across the UK and the world, as well as for mobile domes and for the free schools’ tour.

Music:
The show features five specially commissioned string quartets by Litha Efthymiou, Sadie Harrison, Julian Leeks, Michael Ellison and Emmy award winner Richard Blackford. They were performed by Zelkova String Quartet and recorded by Jonathan Cross at Victoria Rooms, Bristol University.

Visuals:
Bespoke visuals were created by Anna Henley and WTC’s team of expert designers under Lee Pullen, using the planetarium’s recently installed state-of-the-art software. This allows the designers to create journeys through any part of the known universe and project them, via the full dome 360° digital 3-D system, in 4K (Ultra High Definition) resolution.

Lectures:
The show included an introduction and five short presentations on fundamental concepts of physics and astronomy that are relevant to the production’s visual content. These were written with help from leading research scientists, including Dr Robert Massey (Deputy CEO at the Royal Astronomical Society) and Catherine Heymans Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh based at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.

Importantly, different versions of the lectures can be written/recorded to suit a wide range of audiences and levels of understanding.

Recent Posts

  • Composing Workshops
  • Sally Beamish: Sound World Sounds
  • SoundWorld auditions
  • Hinrichsen Foundation funding
  • Funding news from VWF
  • Applications open for spring workshop series
  • Sadie Harrison: Pasture and Storm
  • W/S series and concerts cancelled
  • Arts Council England to support concerts/workshops
  • Sally Beamish April
  • Reflections: release confirmed
  • Reflections: online concert
  • BBC article on our coronavirus project
  • Crowdfunding Campaign
  • Podcast now available
  • Sound World podcast
  • Fundraising update
  • Coronavirus Response
  • March #SoundWorldSounds
  • Call for Scores 2020
  • Dec. #SoundWorld Sounds
  • Nov. #SoundWorld Sounds
  • First MLK tribute piece now available.
  • New Features Page
  • Hannah Kendall’s “Processional”

Recent Comments

  • admin. on Reflections: release confirmed
  • Nick Wilde on Reflections: release confirmed
  • Steven Peters on Audio/Video
  • James E. on Sadie Harrison
  • Chris Poole on Interview: Geoff Poole

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
© Sound World 2023
Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress