Music at the Center for Astrophysics
Resident Composer
Dr. David Ibbett is a composer, educator, and musical advocate for science. He is the first Resident Composer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and Assistant Teaching Professor at WPI.
“Composer David Ibbett encodes the dreams and details of complex physics phenomena into music to help audiences appreciate their splendour.”
Nature
As Director of the Multiverse Concert Series, he performs concerts of music and science that celebrate the work of the CfA by translating science research into live-performed music. His electrosymphonic music fuses classical and electronic styles: interweaving songs, symphonies, rock and electronica with sonified data and images from cutting edge research.
Projects
Voice of the Universe – An Unfolding Album
The Voice of the Universe project explores the science of the deep universe through the lens of art and music. David Ibbett, Resident Composer Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian collaborates with vocalists, scientists and filmmakers to produce immersive compositions – released through the Multiverse Concert Series Youtube Channel.
WEBB SYMPHONY: The First Billion Years
David’s upcoming project translates the research of the James Webb Space Telescope into orchestral music – charting a journey from the cosmic dark of the early universe to the birth of the first galaxies.
Research by:
Mojegan Azadi, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Matt Ashby, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Anna Barnacka, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Anna Frebel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lisa Kewley, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Lloyd Knox and Gabriel Lynch, University of California, Davis
Lars Hernquist, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Brian Schmidt, Australian National University
MARS SYMPHONY (2024) reveals the music of Mars in a groundbreaking planetarium experience with live orchestra. Immerse yourself in the real sounds of Mars’ winds, dust devils and seismic rumbles, joined by orchestral melodies created from data collected from the Red Planet and stunning original visuals from the Charles Hayden Planetarium. The piece features narration by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Laurie Leshin.
“When composer David Ibbett visualizes the terrain of Mars, he hears a full symphony.”
Henry Bova, Boston Globe
Research by:
Martin Elvis, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Baptiste Chide, NASA Jet Propulsion Labratory – Perseverance Audio Recordings
Ben Holtzman, Columbia University, Amir Khan, ETH Zurich, Joshua B Russel, Syracuse University – Mars Seismology
Nicolas Randazzo and Justin Maki, NASA Jet Propulsion Labratory – Martian Core Sample Sonification
Talia Sepersky, Museum of Science, Boston – Symphony Narrative
June Wang, PDS Geosciences – MOLA Altimeter Data
Opportunity, Perseverance and Ingenuity Teams
NASA James Webb Space Telescope
BLACK HOLE SYMPHONY (2022) is an immersive production from the Museum of Science, Boston and Multiverse Concert Series. Audiences embark on an symphonic journey through spacetime, performed by a live orchestra accompanied by stunning, immersive planetarium visuals by the animators of the Charles Hayden Planetarium. The touring concert has reached over 4,000 audience members in 20+ performances.
“In its dedication to the new and unknown, Black Hole Symphony inspires as much as it informs.”
New Scientist
Research by:
Anna Barnacka, Lead Scientist, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Mojegan Azadi, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Martin Elvis, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Peter Galison, Harvard University
Fabio Pacucci, Black Hole Initiative
Priya Natarajan, Yale, Black Hole Initiative
Dan Schwartz, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian