Telescope 'plays the universe' - with the help of Jem

[Zuzana]

Telescope 'plays the universe'

Presszoom.com
Submitted by http://www.hero.ac.uk
22/07/2007
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(PressZoom) - As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Lovell radio telescope, a specially-commissioned musical composition will be performed, during which the famous landmark will literally be 'playing the universe'.
The event celebrates the Lovell telescope as a functional instrument for measuring space and time and as a striking sculptural object situated within a landscape.

The music has been composed by Jem Finer and Ansuman Biswas. Finer, of rock band The Pogues, has previously received critical acclaim for his Longplayer composition, a computer-generated piece designed to last for one thousand years. Biswas has an international artistic practice ranging across live art, music, film, theatre and writing and is best known for CAT, a comparative study of quantum physics and yogic philosophy.

The piece to be performed at Jodrell Bank is a remarkable collaboration between recognised artists and radio astronomers at The University of Manchester's world-famous observatory.

Finer and Biswas, along with Jodrell Bank astronomers, will use the Lovell telescope itself as a live musical instrument and physical focus. Choreographed to track a number of celestial objects, as it turns and tilts it will relay a live stream of radio data while microphones attached to its structure will amplify the sounds of its motion.

Pre-recorded musical sources will form the basis of an hour-long semi-improvised composition, responding and interweaving with the sounds of the telescope. By relegating the 'performers' to the background, to the mixing of the different streams of sound, the telescope itself takes centre stage, drawing a direct link between the telescope and its terrestrial location and the universe's deep expanses of space and time. In a breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime event, the performers will create a unique composition in which the telescope literally 'plays the universe'.

The telescope will also be illuminated from multiple angles, its movement creating a complex interplay of shadows and light, growing in intensity over the duration of the performance. The sole focus of the performance will be the telescope and its awe-inspiring engineering and capabilities. The girders, beams, supports and tracks built by British engineers over 50 years ago still stand, still work 24 hours a day, probing the furthest reaches of the cosmos. This one-off event now gives the telescope a unique voice on the void above.

The weekend of 3-5 August 2007 sees Jodrell Bank Observatory hosting the First Light Festival, marking the golden jubilee of the first observations with the Lovell telescope. In astronomy, 'first light' refers to the first signals that are collected by a new telescope, but in observational astronomy 'first light' refers to that moment in the evolution of the universe when it had cooled sufficiently to allow light to pass unhindered.

Finer describes the audio artwork as 'part of a long continuum'. He said: "For millennia people have stood in this place contemplating the star-filled skies above. Jodrell Bank is now a meeting point where invisible signals arriving from the depths of the universe can be seen and heard."

Dr Tim O'Brien, Head of Outreach at Jodrell Bank said: "This whole weekend is about the telescope, the engineering that allows it to probe the universe and the fundamental science it enables. We're very excited about using it in a live musical creation.'

The First Light Festival at Jodrell Bank uses the 50th anniversary of the first observations with the Lovell telescope as an opportunity to showcase the observational techniques of modern astrophysics.

Tickets for the event ( Friday 3rd August 2007 ) and the 'First Light Festival' itself are available from the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre ( tel. 01477 571339 ) or Jodrell Bank Observatory ( tel. 01477 571321 ).

This event is produced by a collaboration between the artists and the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory, through funds allocated by the Royal Academy of Engineering 'Ingenious' grants programme, the Science & Technology Facilities Council and the Arts Council England.

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[MacRua]

Jodrell Bank to celebrate 50 years
Yakub Qureshi
Manchestr Evening News
7 Aug 2007

Full URL (with pic)

ONE of the region's most prominent landmarks was turned into a giant musical instrument to celebrate a milestone birthday.

For 50 years, Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank has dominated the skyline.

To mark its anniversary artists and astronomers joined forces and hundreds listened as radio data collected by the telescope from the furthest reaches of the cosmos was channelled directly into speakers on the ground.

The concert was the brainchild of folk star Jem Finer, banjo player with The Pogues, and artist Ansuman Biswas, who provided improvised instrumental accompaniment. Microphones also relayed the cranking sound of the telescope's gears as the 250ft-wide dish changed position.

The performance was one of a series of events marking the history of the telescope.

[Manc Liam]

The concert was the brainchild of folk star Jem Finer, banjo player with The Pogues, and artist Ansuman Biswas, who provided improvised instrumental accompaniment. Microphones also relayed the cranking sound of the telescope's gears as the 250ft-wide dish changed position.

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