[MUSIC] 55 years ago today, on July 20th, 1969, humankind landed on Earth's moon for the first time. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the lunar surface, and shared with the world these iconic words. [MUSIC] And July 20th is International Moon Day, so it's only fitting that we celebrate it with music. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Welcome to T-minus Deep Space from N2K Networks. I'm Maria Varmasus. Our guest today is composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg, and she wrote The Moon's Symphony. This symphony presents an unparalleled fusion of visuals and music, celebrating the convergence of music and science to vividly portray past, present, and future lunar explorations. The music incorporates the perspectives of astronauts into a musical voyage throughout our galaxy. The Moon's Symphony, coupled with its planetary message, is designed to grace concert halls, open-air arenas, and planetariums across the globe. My name's Amanda Lee Falkenberg. I have been involved in the realm of music pretty much my whole life. I started playing the piano at two and a half years old, and pretty much just devoted the next two decades to really developing that craft. I was fascinated with the whole discipline, the progress, monitoring, or just being exposed to the repertoire of music. And then it was only in my early 20s that I started composing, and that's when the passion really kind of took off for me in a whole... I mean, I thought I was satisfied playing piano concertos, and that's a thrilling experience. But then to actually be creating your own content was just completely riveting to me. So I then sort of fell into... Well, the natural progression was film composing. The visual landscape really inspired me. I started off in ballet studios, actually, and that was where my first few piano compositions were composed. Then I just spent the next ten years doing film and television, and also writing piano concertos. And that's actually how, and probably why we are talking today, about my latest project, which is the Moon Symphony and a very, very big passion project that's been in development for the last seven years. And I stumbled across the concept sharing writing my piano concerto, which was called Crossing of the Crescent Moon, and that's how I found out about these extraordinary worlds just through some research of ancient symbolisms of Crescent Moons. And then I stumbled across this website that said "Ten of the Weirdest Moons of Our Solar System." And that's... And they are very weird, to be fair. They are absolutely fascinating. And I'm like, "Well, we need music for these moons." And I was... It felt like a lightning bolt had gone through me, and I just could not wait to get started on this new project, which became the Moon Symphony, and that's where we are today. Oh, that's amazing. And I know you are joining me from Chicago right now. So you are touring the world. I mean, you're doing all sorts of cool things right now with the Moon Symphony. Tell me what you're doing right now. Yes, so I am in Chicago. This is my first time here ever. It's a gorgeous spot of the world. And of course, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is about to perform a sweet version of the Moon Symphony. The Moon Symphony is a choral symphony, and Marin Olsopp is performing what we call the symphonic, the orchestral version of that. So it's super exciting. I had my first rehearsal in a couple of weeks' time with them. But yes, so we have visuals that will be displayed on the lawns at the Revenier Music Festival that will accompany this symphonic suite, the Moon Symphony Suite. And I'm so happy to say that the scientists that I consulted with during the creative process are all flying out to be part of this milestone moment for the Moons. And it's so special. I mean, like I said, this has been a seven-year project in the making. And these scientists have been there from day one with me. I mean, as soon as I recognized very early on the project that the science was going to be a huge part of the creative process, I called them, you know, it's the Moons symphonic family of scientists, you know. So we've just been in this from day one. And here we are having the first live performance. A lot of them flew over for the premiere recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. That was back in May 2022 with Marin Olsopp conducting. And so they were there on stage with me with LSO, London Symphony Orchestra in front of them. And it was really fun because before we would perform one of the movements, Marin Olsopp allowed us time just to talk to the musicians. So I had access to these NASA scientists. I'm like, right, Linda, you're going to talk about Moon Miranda and, you know, two minutes to chat about the inspiration behind this next movement. And that was really well received. And so that's definitely what lends itself to this outreach program, which is another huge aspect of this project called Luna. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, I was going to say, we'll get to, there's so many, you just said so many interesting things. I was like, I'm going to put a pit in two of them. So I wanted to ask first about that collaboration with the scientists. I'd love to hear more about like, I mean, a seven year process. I mean, a lot of it was you, obviously, but like working with these scientists and that collaboration must have been fascinating. And then I want to hear about Luna after. So we'll do one and then the other. Yeah, tell me about that collaboration. Yeah. Well, I think it's worth just sort of pausing and saying there are so many levels of inspiration that's wrapped into this project. And yeah, so many tentacles and one of, which is the science element to it all. And how that came about was, you know, I didn't set out initially with the science element in mind. I'm a film composer. I know the power of music to storytell. And that's really, once I stumbled across these moons, I felt this emotional connection to their worlds. And I'm like, I know how to put this into a musical landscape so that more people could learn about them because they were new concepts to me. They were new stories that I hadn't been exposed to. And I thought, well, being a teacher at heart, how can I, you know, amplify their worlds? Well, music and putting emotion to their stories as well is it can be a very powerful combination. And so that's how I set about. But during my research phase, I was stumbling across a lot of science, which I felt could not be ignored. And I was quite excited about it. I honestly felt like it was tapping me on the shoulder saying, hey, can we be part of this moons thing that you've got going on? I'm like, join, you know, join board, join. And then that's when I recognized I needed a choir to sing this science that I was discovering. And then so I said about the research, and this is where it kind of got interesting. And I said to my husband, I'm like, I'm finding lots of inconsistencies on this internet about, you know, their properties and terrains. And I said, I need to consult with like a science specialist. Or I didn't know they were called planetary scientists. Or a moon expert. That's what I said, a moon expert. A moon expert, yes. A moon expert. And so I started Googling this particular gentleman that I kept coming up across. And he looked like quite the character dressed in like Eskimo gear and talking about one of the moons I had decided to write about, Europa. And I'm like, I found him eventually, I found his email. And I said, oh, turn to my husband. Oh, he's from NASA. And it was one of those emails that you kind of type your message. It's like the black hole emails. And you never know if it's going to reach them. And so I just sort of crafted this vision. And I hadn't even written music at that point. And I explained to him about like the science and these moons and whether he'd be willing to talk with me. I told him the vision about a world premiere at Royal Albert Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall. And he got responded to me seven days later and said, Amanda, your project sounds interesting. I'd be happy to Skype with you about your questions. And so we did. And then halfway through this Skype, which was phenomenal, he turned to me at one point and he said, I think the scientists would be really interested in your project, Amanda. And I said, I said, really? He said, oh, yes. It's so different from what I'm sure the emails they normally get. I'm sure that was a delight. He probably was like, is this real? I bet he was delighted. Yeah. He has gone on record to say that when I went, we were invited to, I was invited to CAUTIK and NASA in 2018 to deliver the project to this room of scientists, which was just so dreamy. And before he introduced me to the scientists, he said something along the lines of, you can imagine being a planetary scientist, a leader of a multi-billion dollar space mission. I get a lot of emails in my inbox, but this particular one was quite interesting to me. So yes, you are right with that. I could totally see that. He's like, wow. But what a wonderful path that set you all on. So I'm so glad he responded and became one of your collaborators on this incredible project. It feels like a, not the right word for this, the symphony, the work that you have done, the oof. You're saying that word correctly. I think that's just such a beautiful thing. And when you were crafting all of this, I mean, gosh, I mean, how do you pull in the science while also building a world of emotion and how do you do all that? That is a lot to work together. Gosh, your questions are absolutely fantastic. And I think that's where I drew upon my wealth of experience. Well, my experience as a film composer, because for me, it's a very strategic process, which is you get given a script. You have the story and I will never go into my music story until I've, I call it my incubation period, where I've basically absorbed all the characters and I've understood the plot and the emotional landscape. And that's exactly how I proceeded with this project. And I absolutely, that's like a three-point process. I would spend two to three months researching the science of these worlds. Then once I felt that I'd penetrated and marinated as much information as I could, it would be a big announcement in the household to husband and cats, right? I'm going into my studio to compose this stuff. It's Yeruba's turn. That's exactly, absolutely was like that. And so I put that, that, you know, two to three months of research to the side. I'm very old-fashioned, very traditional. I'd, you know, listen to things. I'd read things. I'd write them down with pencil and paper. I've got books and books of all of this and highlight stuff and pencils and, but I literally just put that to the side because I'm like, I know that's just in my system now. It's time to focus on my craft, which is the music. And so then that would be a huge, that would, that was probably the hardest part, like just really tapping into the emotional integrity of these worlds and really making sure they had their own different personality and all that kind of stuff. It's just always tricky. I mean, there was, there was a time there with Titan, Moon Titan, where I had spent seven days, eight hours a day working on what I felt was a direction for Titan. And then by the seventh day, I turned to my husband. I said, no, it doesn't resonate with me. I'm scrapping everything. I'm starting from scratch because if I'm not resonating with it, how on earth can I expect others? So, of course. Yeah. That is the core of art right there. Really, truly. Yes. Thank you. Yes. I mean, I really, I really, I'm very passionate about that. And, and because actually at the end of the day, you know, if you're not happy with it, why do you even bother, you know, investing that time and energy? I mean, you can, and you can't control how other people are going to resonate. Like that is out of your, your world, but you can try and govern as much as possible your emotional response to what you are crafting. And that's what I've always been really passionate about as an artist is I'm sure you are as well. And so that's what happened. And then after I finished composing the music and it really had to feel, I love John Williams' word. He says inevitable with all these things and melodic identifications that he crafts. And I've really latched onto that. I'm like, it felt inevitable. And once I knew that feeling, I would go, wow, we're done. Time to move on to the next moon. But, but then the other point was, was the poetry, was the libretto. And that was also a huge joy because I would then take my, an mp3 of what I'd crafted and then go and sit with my science books and listen to the melodic material and go, okay, now it's time to save that part of the science and put that in there for that scene. And then, but put the poetic spin on it, which I loved. It was such an enjoyable process. So, and I think there was only like two days that I thought, maybe I should hire librettist or like, and then I thought, no one's going to know this project as much as I do. There's not a lot of information about these worlds. And so I said to my husband, I think I can do this. I'm just going to try and do this. And it was such an, it was so enjoyable. Honestly, I loved every aspect of the crafting of this. And, and you know what? I knew it wasn't going to last forever. Like two, two years later, I was done. So I just wanted to really, really indulge in that, the beauty of crafting the whole symphony. [music] We'll be right back after this quick break. [music] Oh my gosh, I'm loving hearing about that journey, honestly. It's just that you got to have all those conversations and just spend that time really absorbing all of that information about, I mean, how many different moons did you end up crafting work about? Yeah. So it started with six. And there was, there's a really interesting story about how the seventh moon evolved. But so six science moons, and here's a little synopsis for you. And here's my elevator speech as I call it. Okay, go for it. Yep. The first six moons are about the scientific data collected by space probes that tell their stories. The seventh moon is about the emotional data brought back from the hearts of astronauts after seeing our earth from the perspective of our moon. So the seventh movement is about our moon. So the first, so that's the elevator speech. So yes, the first six moons are about moons of the ice and gas giants. And I really wanted to find the most compelling characteristics of those worlds. So yeah, so six science moons and the seventh moon is sort of a spiritual sort of emotional. It sort of reminds us about our home and how precious it is. And, you know, there we are exploring these worlds that do not offer life. We haven't found huge evidence of this yet. Europa might be a different story. And, but anyway, so, you know, just, it's just a really point reminder of the preciousness of our planet. And need I say more, the music takes over. I love that. I mean, as soon as you said the final one was about the perspective of us from our moon, the image of Earthrise. It just comes, I mean, I'm a space nerd. So of course it does. But I mean, it is, it's a picture that if I look at it too long, I start getting a little weepy because it's just, it is so poignant and powerful. So I, it serves so well to that exactly what you were speaking. So I can, it just, it makes a lot of sense to me. I can see that. So you, I'm going to just switch a little bit to lunar because I honestly could probably talk to you for hours about just the crafting of the symphony. I love this. I'm learning so much and I love hearing about this. I want to hear about lunar too. So tell me about, so let's, for our audience who may not know what that is, tell us, let's start with what is that? Okay. So lunar stands for learning under new artistic regimes. I had so much fun finding that acronym, as you can imagine, because that came after I finished the recording. And I was so excited once I'd finished that phase of the project because I knew from day one when I discovered the science. And I'm a teacher at heart. I have a big piano school in Dubai. I love being a teacher, but I'm also extremely curious. I think all artists are very curious human beings. And so I was just craving the science and wanting to learn as much as I possibly could because I also knew, I thought, God, here's my chance to use a new theatrical platform and new lens to educate through the emotional power of music. These incredible worlds and the science attached to them. And I'm so elated to say that the Imperial College outreach team in London have partnered with me and my vision. And they are truly passionate about what I'm trying to do, how to reach global audiences. And they've said many times to me about especially for trying to get females into these scientific disciplines. If you come at it from an emotional doorway for them to experience the music and then understand that if you want to know more, there's this lunar program that's a direct bridge back into the science. I mean, the thing that my husband's always saying, the thing about your symphony Amanda, it is a standalone piece. You can just enjoy it musically full stop. But those who and that's why I wanted to make sure that the libretto was quite dripped in poetry. So it was, you know, sort of it lend itself eventually to the science that I wanted to bridge it back to. It's a companion guide. And I'm so happy to say that two years after the premiere recording when we really could start piloting the lunar program. And again, that's with the Imperial College of London. And we've done some events and it was just so overwhelming, the reaction from the students and it just absolutely proved to us all. It was like a pilot test run we did at the Great Hall back in December 2022. And the students reaction was just precious, like powerful. And it's just really given us the evidence that we needed that we got to keep going and keep rolling this out. And so the idea is, is that my vision is to have and Marino Sots is a global tour. And so, you know, anywhere that the main symphony is being presented in whatever city, we will also attach this lunar program and roll it out at the end of the year. And roll it out at schools, high schools, universities, and it's will get scientists involved who will stand in front. And so the format is, is that the scientists will talk about certain aspects of a particular moment of that moon. And then I'll come in and talk about how the science shapes the music and I'll show them direct examples from the musical score. And then we'll have like a 20 piece, what I call the lunar ensemble, which I've done little transcriptions from arrangements, I should say, from the symphonies. So that way, high school students or, you know, college students can interact with the music. So they're just by sitting there on stage, they're absorbing all of this. And so that's a way of outreaching even more, not sort of to professional orchestras. And so they would save the the roll out of the big 95 piece orchestra and choir, whatever, for the main event. But this would be like a teaser, a warm up for those who want to investigate the science that's baked into the symphony. And so that's what we're developing right now. And it's looking really exciting with some other events happening next year in London and Poland. And of course, Marin Olso is hugely supportive of what I'm trying to do. And yeah, so that's that's Luna. That's so cool. There are a lot of efforts to try and get younger people to engage with sciences through music and the arts. And this is such a fascinating approach to that. I just so many different hands on ways, as you just mentioned, like having that sort of that smaller scale, but also explaining not just the science, but also the music and the actual craft on your end of what you did and how you took the science and made that into something. I think that's it's fascinating to show both sides of that. Because often it's just I know I have sat through and I'm sure many people have sat through, you know, like a presentation over music and that's not quite. It's nice, but this is you're going way, way beyond that. And I think that's just so fascinating. What and it also engages also the musically minded, which is so important. And I think I'm so grateful that I can lean on the outreach department at Imperial College. And I'm so thankful for Andrew Tibbetts, the director of that. Because they've obviously got all this insight and they know the gaps that are going on with the educationary systems right now and how they're there. There's so many represented students out there that don't have access to this sort of thing. So we're really on a mission to make it accessible for everyone. Music is a universal language. So is space. So is our universe. And that's why I think joining up with Imperial who really support those themes is just, you know, a shazam moment. And they've given some amazing opportunities for me so far to deliver the program. We just came from an event hosted by President Brady of Imperial College just in June. And it was so beautifully received. This was for a different audience. And, you know, they're seeing the benefits and the potential power of music and science. The other thing I love about this is obviously STEAM, the A, arts. Yes, yes, with an A. Well, I can add three more to that, which is astronomy, astronauts, and adventure. I mean, you know, and arts. So of course, you know, that's really what we want to do. Really inspire the daylights out of students and give them their own curiosity and imaginations to soar with these moons. And, you know, often the scientists, so for instance, Zibi Turtle, who's the third woman in history that's leading a planetary mission to the outer solar system with Dragonfly. She's actually flying over to Chicago and she'll be on stage with me just before the music. Oh, that's exciting. I love the Dragonfly mission. So I'm so excited to hear that. That's such a cool mission. Absolutely phenomenal. And she, I was in a conference with her in Paris last year, Titan through time. And she knew about, she knows about my Luna and she said, the great thing about what you're doing and the audiences that you're targeting, the students that you're targeting, she said, the fact that you're letting them know about these missions so they can start choosing their subjects that align with hopefully, by the time these these roto crafts reach, you know, Titan seven years, she said, they're going to be ready to then bring back the science and they need postdocs. She said they would be that age that we're like, we need these postdoc students to come and join our mission. So I really enjoyed hearing that because again, that's not a world that I know about. But so having these scientists and the support of Imperial College, it's such a dynamic team to really hope for the best of inspiration and education to as many people as we can reach out there. That's it for T-minus Deep Space brought to you by N2K Cyberwire. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast. You can email us at space@n2k.com or submit the survey in the show notes. Your feedback ensures we deliver the information that keeps you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. T-minus Deep Space is produced by Alice Carruth. Our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trihuster with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Iban. Our executive editor is Brandon Karp. Simone Petrella is our president. Peter Kilpie is our publisher. And I am your host, Maria Varmausis. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time. [Music] [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]
