| Children’s melodies to be played in Space
From composing wake-up calls for cosmonauts to “internet jamming” with American astrophysicists, an unlikely team of scientists, musicians and schoolchildren have joined forces for a project that is literally out of this world!
Manchester Camerata musicians (one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras), Air Products scientists (local i ndustrial gases business, who’s gases help launch NASA spaceshuttles into space ), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) lecturers and primary school children from Manchester and Nantwich, will come together for a project that is packed full of cosmic capers!
On Thursday March 15, during MMU’s National Science and Engineering Week celebrations (March 12-16), Russian cosmonauts, Alexander Martynov and Alexander Volkov along with Air Products managers Mathias Kuhn and Dave Lonsdale, Conway Mothobi, senior lecturer in computing and mathematics at MMU, and Gordan Nikolitch, Manchester Camerata’s Principal Guest Director, will choose their favourite from pieces of music composed at the three schools, and the winning piece will then be performed by the pupils and Manchester Camerata musicians.
The winning composition will be used as the wake-up call on the International Space Station!
Conway Mothobi, MMU’s Science Week organiser said: “ Following negotiations with the International Space Station, the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA, we are now looking forward to cosmonauts on the Station waking up to Manchester music. The call will be heard 250 miles above the earth by Expedition14 cosmonauts under conditions of weightlessness. This is a great honour as it is a UK first.
“We are delighted to be involved in such a fantastic but real project. By providing appropriate mathematics and physics background, good astrophysical data and support we have been able to set up this fantastic project with Manchester Camerata and Air Products.”
During the same day MMU has organised an “internet jamming” session for all the pupils taking part with Fiorella Terenzi, an American astrophysicist and composer.
In the preceding week, Year 5 and 6 pupils from three schools will develop these wake-up calls. Day-long sessions at each school will include visits from Air Products’ Science Ambassadors, Anne Gresty and Gary Worthy. The Air Products scientists will kick off with exciting scientific demonstrations, looking at the properties of liquid nitrogen and how Air Products helps NASA send their shuttles into space.
Once Anne and Gary have sparked imaginations with their demonstrations Manchester Camerata musicians Simon Gilks (violin) and Andrea Vogler (percussion), will work with the children in a session led by composer Kate Pearson, to compose new music for the wake-up calls based on astrophysical data (such as the radio waves emitted by celestial bodies) and visual images of space.
For the finale of the project on Friday March 16 the whole team, including the cosmonauts and all of the children, will return to one of the schools where an exciting music and science event will take place. This will include demonstrations of solar energy cells and a toy moon buggy powered by hydrogen, and a performance of all three wake-up calls.
Mathias Kuhn, General Manager, Packaged Gases UK & Ireland, from Air Products, who are supporting the event said: “This is a fantastic way to celebrate space exploration and National Science and Engineering Week as well as providing the pupils involved with an exciting musical experience, they can also start to appreciate how exciting science can be. ”
Air Products’ Dave Lonsdale, European Marketing Manager, said: “We hope it will encourage those taking part to see the relevance of maths, physics, engineering and music to everyday life, and ignite their imaginative flair! ”
Press opportunities are available on each of the following dates:
- Wednesday March 7:
Session with Science Ambassadors and musicians at Wyche Primary School, Nantwich, Cheshire.
- Thursday March 8:
Session with Science Ambassadors and musicians at St Paul’s Heathside Church of England Primary, Walkden, Manchester
- Wednesday March 14:
Session with Science Ambassadors and musicians at St Barnabus Church of England School, Clayton, Manchester
- Thursday March 15:
Cosmonauts to judge wake up calls and internet jamming at MMU
- Friday March 16:
Final session with cosmonauts, musicians, scientists and children
For more information, quotes, photographs, interviews or to arrange to attend any of the above sessions contact Rhiannon Davies at Manchester Camerata on 0161 226 8696 or at
About National Science and Engineering Week
National Science and Engineering Week runs from 9-18 March 2007. An online programme of events can be found at www.the-ba.net/nsewprogramme. National Science and Engineering Week is coordinated by the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) in partnership with the Engineering and Technology Board, and funded by the Department of Trade & Industry
About Manchester Camerata
Based in England's North West, Manchester Camerata is Chamber Orchestra-in-Residence at Manchester's prestigious Bridgewater Hall. The Orchestra gives concerts throughout the Northwest region and beyond. Education and life-long learning are at the heart of Manchester Camerata’s work. Manchester Camerata is committed to bringing high quality live music to all people, in particular to those who would not otherwise have access to orchestral concerts or instrumental tuition. This isn’t the first project Manchester Camerata have worked on with Air Products, in fact this team won a Bravo! Award for their Science and Sound workshops.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $9 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and over 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.
Air Products has supplied all of the liquid hydrogen for every NASA space shuttle launch since April 1981. The external tank required for the launch, holds approximately 228,000 pounds of liquid hydrogen. Air Products also supplies all of the liquid helium to NASA at the Kennedy Space Centre. The helium is used to purge and pressurize the systems.
About MMU
MMU is one of the largest providers of science and engineering higher education in the UK with around 5,000 undergraduate, postgraduate and research students based in central Manchester. MMU specialises in computing science, chemistry and materials, biology and health sciences, environmental and geographical sciences and engineering and technology. It enjoys a strong tradition of applied research and collaboration with industry and commerce including aviation, and the plastics, motor and food industries.
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