A project co-produced by V&A, AND Festival and MU.

More to be presented on the project soon.

To be released and in newsstand in June 2013, Riposte Magazine

Portrait by Nick Ballon

Words by Philippa Wagner, read full article here

Led by design provocateur Nelly Ben Hayoun, the International Space Orchestra is the world’s first orchestra composed of space scientists, which invites participants to “implement, deconstruct, perform, sing, mix, modify and design musical acts, and adapt science to our creative needs.”

Shot at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, in front of the world’s largest wind tunnel, the film re-enacts the drama of Apollo 11’s control rooms. To accompany the film preview, the Penguin Café performed songs such as, “Wow Signal – 1420 fanfare,” based on the signal received by the Big Ear radio telescope in 1977, as well as instrumentals inspired by David Bowie songs. The performance was part of the V&A’s Friday Late series, and coincided with the museum’s current exhibition, David Bowie Is.

In May, the International Space Orchestra will perform with Beck at the San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall as part of the “Song Reader” live event, curated by Pop-Up Magazine and San Francisco-based publishers McSweeney’s.

Having already had its world premiere at the prestigious Rotterdam International Film Festival, the ISO feature documentary will be shown in May at the Hackney Picture House in London.

Read our recent In The Air report, Another Terra, which explores how designers and artists are currently looking to create a more democratic and cultural investigation of space. – Babette Radclyffe-Thomas & Samantha Fox

Words by Holly Wilkins for Its Nice That

read the full article here

The International Space Orchestra – will be coming together to perform with American Singer BECK on 20th May 2013. Blending space science, planet-poking and bluegrass-playing spacecraft operators, the world’s first orchestra composed of space scientists –is about to  lift off  from San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall!

Come and join us for a very special performance, as part of the special ‘Song Reader’ Issue by POP-UP MAGAZINE and MC SWEENEY’S! 2,700 seats available and going on sale on 24th April HERE

The International Space Orchestra (ISO) is a team of space scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center, Singularity University, International Space University and the SETI Institute. In the summer of 2012 in California, ISO performed Ground Control: An Opera in Space composed by a team including DAMON ALBARN (frontman of Blur and Gorillaz), BOBBY WOMACK, ARTHUR JEFFES from PENGUIN CAFE, MAYWA DENK, and two-time Grammy award winner EVAN PRICE, with a libretto by science- fiction author BRUCE STERLING. Amongst the members of ISO were a NASA Flight Controller conducting arias, a Payload Officer playing a baritone saxophone, a Capsule Communicator playing the triangle, a NASA center Deputy Director playing the gong and an astronaut playing percussion.

ISO’s first performance of Ground Control: An Opera in Space  took place in front of the world’s largest wind-tunnel at the  NASA Ames Research Center and its second in downtown San José as part of the ZERO1 Biennial, North America’s most significant showcase of work at the nexus of art and technology. In addition, Ground Control: An Opera in Space was recorded at Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas’ studio and in January 2013, the International Space Orchestra feature film (66 minutes) had its world premiere at the prestigious Rotterdam International Film Festival.

The International Space Orchestra acts as  an experiential and hybrid research laboratory, where space scientists have been invited to implement, deconstruct, perform, sing, mix, modify, and design musical acts in scientifically built environment such as control rooms. It is a provocation to action: a call to imagine and disrupt future human relations to science; to adapt science to our creative needs.

The International Space Orchestra is directed, created and co-produced by Nelly Ben Hayoun Studio

ISO Musical Director is Evan Price

ISO Choir Conductor is Jimmy Kansau

ISO logo and Patch design by David Benqué

With support by Montalvo Arts Center, Lucas’ residency where Nelly Ben Hayoun is a fellow

Nelly Ben Hayoun will be a resident of the SETI Institute, CA, USA (working with Dr.Janice Bishop and Dr. Franck Marchis)

See more on the ISO on our website: www.groundcontrol-opera.com

as part of  Space Culture: Innovative Approaches for Public Engagement in Space, for the 64th International Astronautical Congress

This session is co-sponsored by the IAF Technical Committee on the Cultural Utilisation of Space (ITACCUS) and will focus on the activities of institutions such as museums, space agencies and non-profit organisations involving space that engage the cultural sector.

It will be followed by a Q&A with special guests…

Sunday 22nd September, V&A, London

The International Space Orchestra tells the story of the incredible journey that Ben-Hayoun took with the employees of NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute in California during 2012, in setting up the International Space Orchestra, and the production of the space opera they made together. The film contains interviews with scientists from NASA, as well as the final production of Ground Control: A Space Opera, it features musical contributions from Damon Albarn and Bobby Womack, and Penguin Café (Arthur Jeffes). (57m)