Choosing to hear live music anywhere is exciting, but experiencing it in a world famous site is quite extraordinary. We can do that because nearby we have two world-renowned institutions we can visit to open our eyes to the world and hear programs that open our ears to outstanding music.
One of them is the historic Mount Wilson Observatory, home to more than 100 years of groundbreaking astronomical discoveries. The Observatory offers many public events, including stargazing, arts, lectures, and science activities, along with classical and jazz music.
In just a few days, there will be Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome which take advantage of the astonishing acoustics, while Mount Wilson’s 60 inch and 100 inch telescopes (the largest in the world) will be made available to the public. Cécilia Tsan is the Artistic Director of the series. For more information on the concert series click here.
For those not attending a tour or lecture, you can just hike the grounds, gaze at the telescope domes, and browse through the Historic Museum in the Lecture Hall. For general information visit Mt. Wilson Observatory website.
The other wonderful science and music venue is a little farther away, but it is one that we are so proud of – and that is Caltech. Caltech is a world renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world’s brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions and pressing societal challenges. The Institute also manages the Jet Propulsion Lab for NASA, sending probes to explore the planets of our solar system and quantify changes on our home planet.
Caltech has also just restarted its historic music series, featuring touring artists from around the world. Next on the schedule is an outdoor evening performance on Friday, June 24 featuring Naturally 7 in a program that shows off the singers’ skills at imitating all the instruments one would find in a great jazz or rock band. The repertoire draws on the singers’ rock, gospel and pop music roots.
Since assuming the directorship of Caltech’s Public Programming office Michael Alexander has also been searching for artists who are using their talents to use the arts to interpret scientific advances for the general public. People can learn about the performing arts programs, Caltech’s authors series (Behind The Book) and its new film series (Movies That Matter) at events.caltech.edu.
What enrichment is available to us. We really live in an amazing area and l am happy to remind the Buzz readers about it.
Backstage with the Buzz is written by Sheila Tepper, Producer Cultural Programming. Sheila has lived in the Larchmont area for fifty years, among her passions have been passing legislation for children with disabilities and interviewing outstanding artists appearing in the Los Angeles area.
Wow, great stories on two new places that I didn’t know they had music, the observatory and Caltech,
Thank you for this article!