Join CVSO this February and March for a celebration of The Planets by Gustav Holst with community partners Dr. Paul Thomas, UWEC, composer Jerry Hui, poet Jan Carroll, Chippewa Valley Festival Choir, and the LE Phillips Memorial Public Library. On Thursday evenings beginning February 9, CVSO and UWEC will present “Exploring the Planets: Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra and UWEC’s Art + Science Speaker Series”. Make sure to mark your calendar for the performance marking the culmination of this project, “Holst’s Voyage of Discovery: The Planets” on March 4 at 7:30 pm at Pablo Center at the Confluence, to hear The Planets and two new commissioned pieces by Jerry Hui with words by Jan Carroll.
| Date | Event | Description | Location | Ticketing |
| Thursday, February 9 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Talk: Exploring the Solar System | UWEC Physics and Astronomy Lecturer Jess Vriesema will describe the current and future status of humanity’s exploration of the solar system, describing recent discoveries and exciting new spacecraft missions in preparation. | Riverview Room, LE Phillips Memorial Public Library | FREE and open to the public |
| Thursday, February 16 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Talk: Tuning in the Music of the Spheres | UWEC Physics and Astronomy Professor Nathan Miller will discuss the relationships between music and physics. Come for an evening of exploring harmony both in the concert hall and throughout the solar system. | Riverview Room, LE Phillips Memorial Public Library | FREE and open to the public |
| Thursday, February 23 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Talk: Writing the Words for Pluto and Voyager | Poet Jan Carroll will explore her adventure of writing lyrics for two new musical compositions: one on Pluto, and one on the Voyager space probe, that will accompany Holst’s The Planets performed by the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra on March 4. After retracing the journey, she will read each poem. | Riverview Room, LE Phillips Memorial Public Library | FREE and open to the public |
| Thursday, March 2 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Talk: Musica Universalis: Myth, Beliefs, Holst (and a Black Hole) | Medieval philosophers believed that the movement of celestial objects form a music which only our souls could hear and which could influence our own health. Such pseudo-science has since been dispelled, yet our imagination continues to be captured by this mysterious music, shaped by our association of stars and planets with various tales about them. In this presentation, UW-Stout Professor Jerry Hui will explore these beliefs and the music they helped create. Plus, we’ll listen to some celestial objects that do make sound! | Riverview Room, LE Phillips Memorial Public Library | FREE and open to the public |
| Saturday, March 4 7:30 p.m. | Concert: Holst’s Voyage of Imagination: The Planets | Embark on a journey through the Solar System, illuminated by the glorious music of Gustav Holst and stunning images from NASA. This concert features a full orchestral and choral performance of Holst’s The Planets, with two additional world-premiere movements composed by Jerry Hui with words by Jan Carroll. UWEC Professor Paul Thomas will be our guide, describing our current knowledge of the neighboring planets. | RCU Theatre, Pablo Center at the Confluence | $10 + fees students/youth $25/$35/$45 + fees adults Ticket Link |
Holst’s Voyage of Imagination: The Planets is sponsored by:
