A century ago, Gustav Holst had 7 planets to inspire his composition, The Planets. With Earth, these were the known worlds. Holst evoked the planets’ astrological characteristics, assigned in the distant past by sky watchers trying to make sense of their world. As Holst looked back, astronomers were busy looking up with telescopes, photography, and spectroscopy, collecting data, testing ideas and uncovering the true nature of the planets. In the 1960s, space travel launched a steady stream of metal ambassadors and, with them, virtual human exploration. Then, just over 20 years ago, astronomers spied the first planets orbiting other stars. The known world count has swollen since then into the thousands.Explore the mystic and the scientific in this unique presentation, in which the Hart House Orchestra plays excerpts from Holst’s The Planets, interspersed with talks about planetary science in 2017.
Hart House Orchestra
Dr. Alan Jackson, University of Toronto, Centre for Planetary Sciences
Dr. Matt Russo, University of Toronto Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
A partnership with the Hart House Orchestra and the Royal Canadian Institute for Science.
*NOTE – different venue & start time:
Hart House Great Hall, 3 – 5 PM
Sunday programs at the Macleod Auditorium, 1 King’s College Circle, St George Campus, University of Toronto. All programs begin at 2 PM unless otherwise noted. Programs are free and open to all unless otherwise noted.