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Music

A Space Orchestra Sending Music To The Cosmos

Nelly Ben Hayoun’s International Space Orchestra merges music and science.

Conducting an orchestra of scientists and musicians to broadcast music into the cosmos might sound like an idea you’d come up with late at night after one too many whiskeys, but artist and designer Nelly Ben Hayoun made it happen. Gathering together a diverse group of people—astronaut Yvonne Cagle on percussion, Bruce Sterling, Japanese art band Maywa Denki, and many more—the event took place last September at the NASA Ames Research Center.

As well as sending music into space Hayoun also made a film of the event, a teaser of which has just been released online (above). The film goes behind-the-scenes of the International Space Orchestra, a project that merges music and science and shows that just because you’re a Capsule Communicator, doesn’t mean you can’t play a mean triangle.

To find out more about the project read our interview with Nelly Ben Hayoun where she talks about how the idea came about.

@stewart23rd