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The Australia-based founders of the Global Orchestra told audiences in Hampton, Virginia, how a modest idea blending music, technology and environmentalism ballooned into a series of popular, globe-spanning, open-participation events.
During an April 3 talk at NASA’s Langley Research Center, composer Charlie Chan and interactive technology specialist Justin Baird offered insight into the inspiration and imagination behind Global Orchestra.
“We all take a little bit of time and contemplate how we live on the Earth and we play our part. We do something that will allow us to live more sustainably here,” Chan said. “That’s the message of the Global Orchestra.”
A 2015 version of the event linked thousands of musicians. More than 200 schools, orchestras and community groups across 350 far-flung locations participated — including Langley. Connected by “conductor cam” video technology, groups and individuals around the world simultaneously played music from Holst’s “The Planets” in recognition of Earth Hour, an environmental event similar to Earth Day in the United States.
The Global Orchestra reconvened March 24 for “Concert for the Planet 2018,” and volunteer musicians from Langley and the around the region participated once again. They gathered at Langley’s Reid Conference Center before 5 a.m. so they could virtually connect with the host orchestra in Gold Coast, Australia. Images of musicians here were pulled into the event’s official feed and beamed around the world.
“We understand what music does for us as people,” Chan said. Regardless of where you come from, or your musical skill level, you can play a part in something positive. “Music brings people together,” she said. “It’s the galvanizer of communities.”
At the end of the talk, Chan and Baird invited some of Langley’s participants to the stage for a reenactment of sorts: a short performance of new music inspired by “The Planets.”
NASA Langley’s players — nicknamed by organizers the Rocket Scientist Orchestra — helped the event gain traction in the Australian media, Chan and Baird said. “Thanks to NASA, people saw that the world was a smaller place than they thought it was,” Chan said. “The NASA connection allowed us to take it to the next level,” Baird said.
And the Global Orchestra founders are still thinking big.
“One of our thoughts moving into the future is to now bring the ‘Concert for the Planet’ … into the North American time zones and focus on doing a much larger education outreach program,” Baird said. “That’s our next dream.”
They’re also thinking beyond the planet. “ISS or bust, 2020!” Chan shouted, referring to their hopes to connect with the International Space Station in coming years.
“It’s not too much of a joke,” Baird said, smiling. “If we don’t have big, audacious goals, we can’t get there.”
Image credit: NASA/David C. Bowman