I am sitting here, at nearly midnight, trying to figure out how to describe the relationship between space and the symphony. I remember jokingly putting on my Instagram how the two made the perfect combination. Alas, here I am struggling with how to put the beauty of space combined with the symphony into words. Maestro Paul Freeman was a man who was able to see the connection between science and the arts. Even though maestro Freeman is no longer with us he has still left an impact on everything, as well as everyone, that he was apart of. 

In July of 2015 Maestro Freeman passed away leaving a lasting legacy with the Sinfonietta for years to come. This whole 2015-2016 season was dedicated to his memory as “Paul Freeman: Season of Celebration.” With this being their final performance of the season the Sinfonietta not only decided to honor Maestro Freeman, but to combine to subjects that not many would have thought of. This is where the Sinfonietta brought in Jose Fransisco Salgado to help blend science with the arts, a way to add a visual representation to the music that the audience is hearing. 

Jose Fransisco Salgado carries a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Michigan and is the executive director and co-founder of KV265, a foundation that prides itself on communicating science through art. This is where the Sinfonietta comes in. For ten years the Sinfonietta has been working with Dr. Salgado, which all started when he was at Adler Planetarium and debuted what became an award winning suite of seven short films set to Gustav Holst’s The Planets. This relationship between Dr. Salgado and the Sinfonietta has blossomed into the performance that was given on Monday night where Dr. Salgado presented new footage, as well as scientific visualizations, to the works by Holst, Estacio, and Mussorgsky. 

The performance of Chicago Sinfonietta's Cosmic Convergence at Symphony Center opened with Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity set to The Planets by Gustav Holst. This work focused on the high resolution photos of Jupiter’s moons IO and Europa. From there the audience was given to see the majesty of the aurora borealis, which Dr. Salgado filmed over a span of days in the Canadian Rockies, set to the work of John Estacio aptly called Borealis. The audience was then treated to something that only few on planet could actually attest to seeing for themselves, a view of earth from the International Space Station. High resolution photos taken from the ISS span the entire globe in a matter of minutes. The audience is treated to majestic views that only a few are lucky enough to truly experience. This all culminated in what was simply coined as Mars, the Bringer of War. The audience is treated to amazing photos of the desolate landscape that is the Martian surface as well as the occasional dirt devil (dust tornado for the lay person). The photos and videos go hand and hand with the musical arrangements that Dr. Salgado selected to show both the raw emotion and beauty that space has. That was all before intermission.

The second half of the program took a bit of a turn as it was no longer really dealing with science, or space for that matter, but more on the focus and celebration of Maestro Freeman where members of the Sinfonietta spoke to the audience about their interactions with the Maestro and how he affected their lives. The work that stood out the most was the piece entitled: Global Warming by Michael Abels. The peace offers a more hopeful outlook on life itself and the thaw in international relations after the Cold War had ended. Hope is the driving force between everyone on this planet. Hope is what helped Maestro Freeman create the most diverse symphony in the country. Hope is what leads people to victory, which is the theme of final movement Victory Road also composed by Mr. Abels. Victory Road is the culmination of Maestro Freeman’s life as well as career. 

The performance on a positive note because at the end of the day it is about celebrating the lives that have the most impact on us. This show was more than the blending of the world of science and art, but it was the celebration of a man who had the foresight to see that the two subjects go hand and hand. A celebration that was handled so masterfully that people received an education, as well as an appreciation, for the world and space as a whole. A celebration of a man who has impacted all those around him to the point where not a single person has a disparaging comment to make about him. The Sinfonietta will continue to do what it does best, bringing two subjects together to help blend education with the arts.