Enjoy hearing music under the stars? How the sky will change for this Modesto show
There’s nothing new about a concert under the stars, listening to music outdoors under an evening sky. But a special event in Modesto this weekend puts a unique spin on that simple concept.
Instead of being outdoors under the stars, patrons will be indoors under the stars.
“Music Aligns with the Stars” pairs the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra with the planetarium at Modesto Junior College’s Great Valley Museum on Saturday, Feb. 15.
The program features MSYO ensembles playing inside the William R. Luebke Planetarium while a projection of stars and more fill the domed room’s “sky.”
It’s part of an effort by both the Modesto Symphony Orchestra and Great Valley Museum to reach new audiences and expose new parts of the community to each organization, Caroline Nickel, MSO president and CEO, and Arnold Chavez, Great Valley Museum and planetarium director said.
“Often it’s a challenge to get people to look at you for all the things you can offer and for the value to the community and to be noticed — there are so many of us,” Nickel said. “So when you can do something with another organization, then you get this opportunity to be more visible in the community.”
“Oh, yes,” Chavez said when asked if the program is part of the creative thinking nonprofits have to come up with to grab the public’s attention. “It’s going to expose us to some supporters, members on the symphony side, and hopefully the symphony will get some exposure from those on the museum side.”
The four-hour event promises plenty of entertainment inside the entire Great Valley Museum, as well as the planetarium.
“We have three official chamber ensembles, brass, wind and strings,” Nickel said, and all will be featured throughout the museum. Also, some of the MSYO’s musicians have formed their own duets and also will perform.
Perfect acoustics
The acoustics inside the domed planetarium are perfect for live music, said Nickel, adding that Modesto Symphony Orchestra Music Director David Lockington had checked it out in the past for this kind of program. “It has wonderful sound in there. With the dome shape, the acoustics in the planetarium are fantastic.”
The performances will be staggered over the four hours inside the planetarium, which seats 100.
Three of the five planned planetarium shows will feature the youth orchestra with different domed projections.
“During two ensemble performances we plan to have the night sky projected on the dome and during another performance we will bring up the aurora lights, because we can replicate that,” Chavez said.
Planetarium technician Mike Garcia “lived in Canada for some time and said what we can project is pretty darn close to what one would see in real life,” he said.
The other two shows will feature planetarium programs without the youth orchestra, “Habitat Earth” and “Earth Moon and Sun,” Chavez said. Both shows rotate regularly at the venue throughout the year.
Food and plenty of sights
There will be light food available in the museum, included in the ticket price — $40 for adults, $20 for students. All proceeds benefit the MSYO and the Great Valley Museum and planetarium.
“Basically, it’s a come and go thing,” Nickel said. “People can walk around the museum, grab a bite to eat ... then go inside the planetarium.” They also can stay for the entire four hours and take in multiple shows and view what the Great Valley Museum has to offer.
This isn’t the first time the two have partnered for an event. In 2018 the MSO performed Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” at the Gallo Center with visuals provided by Garcia, Nickel said. Usually an orchestra would rent visuals available for the Holst program, but “since we have this planetarium here in Modesto we thought it would be more impactful to partner with our own.”
“(Garcia) did this amazing job,” she said. “He put together a visual that went along with each planet (and) connected the music to our audience.”
That partnership “got our wheels turning, wouldn’t it be great to use (the planetarium) again together,” Nickel said.
“It’s a first for us so we are excited to see how it’s going to turn out,” Chavez said of having an outside group perform in the planetarium. “It’s neat and unique, definitely.”
“Music Aligns with the Stars”
WHEN: 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15
WHERE: MJC Great Valley Museum Planetarium, 2201 Blue Gum Ave., Modesto
TICKETS: $40 adult, $20 student
ONLINE: www.modestosymphony.org
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
