Robin Ince and Jen Gupta to Host THE EXOPLANETS at Hackney Empire

City of London Sinfonia's season of musical adventures and pioneers - will continue on Friday 13 March with The Exoplanets at Hackney Empire. An exhilarating evening of music and astrophysics, The Exoplanets will premiere a newly commissioned orchestral suite inspired by the recent discovery of planets beyond our solar system. 

Written by an intrepid collective of composers: Samantha Fernando, Robin Haigh, Blasio Kavuma, Zhenyan Li, Pauchi Sasaki, Anibal Vidal and Theo Whitworth - The Exoplanets will be performed by City of London Sinfonia under the baton of Curtis Institute Conducting Fellow, Micah Gleason, for her UK debut. Comedian, author and popular science presenter, Robin Ince, together with astrophysicist Professor Jen Gupta, will host the evening as expert guides on a sonic journey beyond the farthest frontiers of our solar system.

The first discovery of an exoplanet - a planet that orbits a star beyond our solar system - was confirmed in 1995. Although astronomers had long conjectured their existence, exoplanets are so far from earth, they are incredibly difficult to find. Since 1995, nearly 6,000 more have been identified, building a staggering body of evidence as to the scale of the Universe. Recent findings now offer the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on one of these distant worlds, placing humanity on the precipice of a discovery that will forever rewrite our understanding of the Universe and our place within it.

This is the out-of-this-world stage on which The Exoplanets is set. Building on its five decade track-record of pioneering new commissions and collaborative works, CLS has brought together a collective of composers to create a brand new kind of orchestral suite inspired by seven of these strange and beautiful exoplanets.

Developed in collaboration with Dr. Ruth Angus, Associate Curator of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History, and incorporating NASA data, each composer has been paired with an exoplanet and tasked with creating a movement within the suite inspired by the sound world of their planet. From seas of boiling lava, to shimmering jets of diamonds, monumental mountain ranges to constant hurricanes in perpetual darkness, these are wild and strange new frontiers.

Introducing THE EXOPLANETS composers:

Samantha Fernando works internationally with leading orchestras and ensembles. Awarded the RPS Composition Prize in 2013, she collaborates regularly across artforms with writers, directors, and choreographers. Samantha's exoplanet is TRAPPIST-1e, a rocky, windy planet situated a mere 40 light-years from Earth. It lies in the Goldilocks Zone, meaning that it has the potential to support water on its surface, and therefore possibly life: “As a tidally locked planet, one side of TRAPPIST-1e is permanently in light, the other in darkness. I'm interested in evoking this through contrasting blocks of sound that envelop the listener. These blocks may be in contrast, but their edges are hazy. The notion that there are distant planets that are both unknowable and full of potential evokes a deep sense of awe and wonder in me. I've held onto this feeling while writing this piece.”

Ivor Novello Award-winning Irish/British composer, Robin Haigh, works internationally with leading orchestras and soloists. Robin's exoplanet, 55 Cancri e, is located 41 light-years from earth and is covered in a global ocean of lava with sparkling skies: “My piece reflects its chaotic, molten surface with surging string tremolos, aggressive brass and cascades of woodwinds, echoing the "jets of diamonds" that are said to emanate from the planet. In the sense of emotional stasis felt in the slow middle section, we find parallels with the planet's constant "day" and "night" or "hot" and "cold" sides, which unlike the earth are permanently locked in place.”

Blasio Kavuma is a Butterworth Prize-winning composer, producer and DJ working at the intersection of classical and afro-diasporic music. Blasio's super Earth exoplanet, Kepler-22b, is a possible ocean world orbiting in the habitable zone. “Low strings enter with a slow and floaty pattern, the planet begins to come into view, computer readings still faint. Bio-signatures pop in and out - low, bubbling brass followed by cloudy chords in the woodwinds. A serene melody in the high strings, the low strings become busier, bio signatures pulse in and out more frequently, momentum builds until... Finally, the full view of our new home, a huge orchestral moment of resolution. Steady rhythm, strong melody, full harmonies. Bold mountain ranges facing vast oceans.”

Zhenyan Li is a Chinese composer and Chinese flautist based in London, whose work draws inspiration from theatrical elements, particularly the performance styles of traditional East Asian theatre. Past works include: the opera, Cummings & Goerings (Tête-à-Tête Festival); Extrapolating for dance and orchestra, premiered by the LPO at the QEH; and Hashigakari (Lucerne Festival, and selected for Ensemble Modern's Happy New Year concert series). Zhenyan's exoplanet is OGLE-2016-BLG-1928.

Pauchi Sasaki's interdisciplinary approach integrates musical composition with the design of multimedia performances and the application of new technologies. A composer, performer, improviser and film director collaborating actively with projects linked to film, dance, theatre, installation, site specific and interdisciplinary performances, Pauchi has performed internationally in Latin America, Europe, the USA and Japan. Pauchi's exoplanet is Pharos 38 b.

Pisar Prize winner, Anibal Vidal, is a London-based Chilean composer, whose career spans concert music, music for media, and multidisciplinary projects. Anibal's exoplanet is HD 209458 b, a gas giant exoplanet that orbits an F-type star 158 light-years from earth: “My piece evokes the intense sonic world of a planet locked in a state of perpetual hurricane. The orchestra transforms into a single, fierce organism, swept through a series of hurricane ‘rides' that depict the force of violent winds and the sharpness of glass rain through pulsating ostinati. In contrast, as the atmosphere thins into outer space, leaving behind the shimmering tail of a drifting comet, the orchestra shifts to calmer, ethereal textures.”

Theo Whitworth is a multi-instrumentalist and multidisciplinary composer working across theatre, short film, installations, charity campaigns, and radio. He has been the composer for curious directive on all of their work for the past nine years and has written music for the acclaimed immersive theatre company, SWAMP, as well as Shakespeare's Globe. Theo's exoplanet is 51 Pegasi b.