‘Supernova' - Epic Science-Fiction Fantasy at Vanderbilt

Mark Jenkins, a renowned British composer of electronic music, will perform the epic, science-fiction fantasy “Supernova” on Saturday, July 23, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. in the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium.

A musical tale of interstellar flight, hope, mystery and conflict among the stars, “Supernova” offers great music for sci-fi fans of all ages. The event will include a full Vanderbilt Planetarium star show as it’s never been seen before.

In a solo musical performance, Jenkins uses vintage synthesizers mixed with new technology including an iPad, combined with striking NASA video imagery projected onto the planetarium dome.

Jenkins, in addition to using recorded background music, plays additional instruments live as he narrates the tale. “Supernova,” he said, is the story of “a ‘space ark’ that leaves a polluted Earth, crosses interstellar space, and finds a new earth-like planet.”

David Bush, an astronomy educator who is the Vanderbilt Planetarium’s technical and production coordinator, said “The planetarium is the perfect venue for ‘Supernova.’ With Mark Jenkins’ music and eye-popping visuals, visitors are transported through the stars, land on strange worlds, and pass by exploding stars, spiraling galaxies, and mysterious black holes along the way.”

Tickets are $20 for museum members, $25 for non-members, $30 at the door. For reservations, call 631-854-5579. Tickets also may be purchased on-line at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

Mark Jenkins, a leading artist in Britain’s electronic-music scene for more than 20 years, released the world’s first CD composed and performed entirely on the Apple iPad, in October 2010. Studio and concert videos can be found at www.youtube.com/markjenkinsmusic.

An innovator in the use of computers in live musical performance, Jenkins is the author of Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying – From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis (Elsevier Science, 2007), acclaimed as one of the best books ever written on the subject.

Jenkins has created music for live performance and for advertising and television, and has performed as a member of White Noise and with the singer Arthur Brown and members of Can, Gong, Van Der Graaf Generator and Tangerine Dream. He has been invited to perform at the Royal Festival Hall in London, at the Royal Greenwich Observatory Planetarium, the National Theatre of Brazil, and in France, Holland and China. His most recent shows in the United States were at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.