Ensemble Augelletti Performs Celestial Baroque Beneath Giant Mars Installation at IF: Milton Keynes Festival
The concert is part of the 2025 edition of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, running 18–27 July.
By: A.A. Cristi Jun. 16, 2025
The celestial meets the musical this summer at IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, when renowned early music group Ensemble Augelletti performs a special concert beneath Luke Jerram’s monumental sculpture of the planet Mars.
Taking place on Friday 25 July at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone, The Morning Star concert will feature a programme of baroque music inspired by stars, angels, and the cosmos. The performance is staged directly under Jerram’s striking installation Mars, a seven-metre spherical sculpture featuring high-resolution NASA imagery and a specially curated soundscape including recordings from actual Mars missions.
Ensemble Augelletti, the BBC New Generation Baroque Ensemble, will explore 17th- and 18th-century musical interpretations of the heavens with works by Corelli, Schmelzer, and Uccellini, alongside settings of the 1597 hymn How Beautifully Shines The Morning Star. Founded in 2019 and known for their vibrant interpretations and historical insight, the ensemble brings a unique blend of scholarship and performance to this one-night-only event.
The concert is part of the 2025 edition of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, running 18–27 July, which presents an eclectic and international mix of large-scale outdoor spectacles, live music, theatre, dance, circus, poetry, and visual installations.
Jerram’s Mars installation will appear in two locations during the festival: first at The Open University campus (18–20 July) and later at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone (21–27 July), with free public viewing hours throughout the week. The sculpture is part of a trilogy of planetary works by the artist, following the success of Museum of the Moon and Gaia, both of which have toured globally.
Tickets for The Morning Star concert are £22.50 for adults and £11 for under-16s, available through ifmiltonkeynes.org.
The Morning Star: Ensemble Augelletti
Friday 25 July, 7:30 p.m.
Church of Christ the Cornerstone, 300 Saxon Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 2ES
Tickets: £22.50 / Under-16s £11
Booking: ifmiltonkeynes.org
Luke Jerram: Mars
July 18–20 at The Open University campus
July 21–27 at Church of Christ the Cornerstone (closed 24 July)
Free entry – full times at ifmiltonkeynes.org
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