Kate Moore’s latest work Space Junk receives its world première this evening and also kicks off the 2019 Minimal Music Festival. The socially engaged Moore composed it especially for Asko|Schönberg.

The work is many things at the same time: an oppressive harmony of spheres, but also the musical expression of an environmental disaster and a riveting sci-fi tale told with graphic, innovative techniques.
Moore, who features as Muziekgebouw’s ‘soulmate’ this season in its special concert series, drew inspiration from the interactive 3D-model that charts debris discarded by humans in outer space. The environmental impact of all this debris is vast. For Space Junk Kate Moore will team up with her father the physicist Chris Moore in order to draw attention to the problem of space junk.
Besides Space Junk we hear two earlier ensemble works by Moore, which are likewise about time, the cosmos and transcendence. The work is part of Kate Moore’s investigation into the materiality of sound – in this case it requires instruments made of water and porcelain.

Space junk, a big problem
Space waste consists of human-made objects that are in orbit around the Earth and may remain there for a long time. Tens to hundreds of thousands of individual pieces of debris larger than 1 cm, including obsolete satellites and smaller parts of spacecraft, fly around the Earth, and millions of even smaller fragments. Over time, in the harsh environment of space, collisions and other phenomena may cause a chain reaction that leads to fragmentation of these objects, causing shards to shoot away at high speed. Space debris represents a risk for many satellites we are depending on: satellites for communication, navigation, climate observation, safety and so on. But large debris can also crash on Earth and cause enormous damage. Nobody sees it, but it is a growing environmental problem and danger.
For the team of Asko|Schönberg, an ensemble with a strong focus on actual topics, Space Junk fits into a series of programs that address social issues such as gender, robotics and climate.
Kate Moore converts data from space from the Mount Stromlo laser tracking station in Australia, where her father works, into sound and creates a composition. During the concert images of space junk are shown. Invisible environmental problems are made audible and visible by connecting art with science. Daughter and father, art and science join forces.

Artists

KATE MOORE
Klepsydra
The Art of Levitation
Space Junk *) World première (commissioned by Asko|Schönberg)

ASKO|SCHÖNBERG
conductor Marzena Diakun
light Floriaan Ganzevoort

*) Supported by Fonds Podiumkunsten