Press release
World premiere of a work by Canadian composer Matthew Ricketts
Organ and Space: Gaze up to the Heavens
Organist Jean-Willy Kunz and astronaut David Saint-Jacques
together on stage for a singleconcert on May 6!
Montréal, Tuesday, May 2, 2017 — Since the dawn of time, human beings have looked up towards the skies, seeking a better understanding of the planet they inhabit. It was in this spirit of discovery that Jean-Willy Kunz, organist in residence with the Orchestresymphonique de Montréal,invited Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronautDavid Saint-Jacquesto join him for a concert called Organ and Space: Gaze up to the Heavens. On Saturday, May 6 at 2:30 p.m.inMaisonsymphonique, spectators are invited to hear and see a uniquely space-themedconcert.
The event will be anamalgam of musicperformed on the organ by Mr. Kunz, video projections,and contributions from Dr.Saint-Jacques.Exploration,the relationship of humanity to the Earth, the discovery of new horizons, andastronauts will be the themes addressed at an afternoon celebrating space journeys.
Concert-goers have a great surprise in store when Dr. Saint-Jacques chats LIVE with European Space Agency (ESA) astronautThomas Pesquet, partway through a six-month mission on board the International Space Station. The audience will also get to hear, in a world premiere, a work for organ entitled Highest Lightby Canadian composer Matthew Ricketts, commissioned especially for the Organ and Space concert.
Jean-Willy Kunz The Orchestresymphonique de Montréal’s very first organist in residence, Jean-Willy Kunz is charged with the development and showcasing of the OSM’s Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, besides playing on it with the Orchestraas well as in recital. Among his recent performances are concerts with the Orchestresymphonique de Québec, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, Cirque du Soleil and singers like Pierre Lapointe and Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Jean-Willy Kunz holds a doctorate in organ from McGill University and is professor of organ at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
David Saint-Jacques Dr. David Saint-Jacques was selected as an astronaut in May 2009 by the Canadian Space Agency. In November 2018,he will launch aboard a Soyuz rocket as copilot for a six-month stay on the International Space Station. During the Expedition 58/59 mission he will carry out a series of scientific experiences, robotics tasks and technological demonstrations, and may be called on to walk in space. Before joining the Canadian Space Program, Dr.Saint-Jacques was a family doctor in Puvirnituq, a village in the Canadian Arctic located close to Hudson Bay. Married and the father of three children, Dr. Saint-Jacques is also an engineer and an astrophysicist.
Matthew Ricketts is a Canadian composer and a graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. He is currently doing a doctorate at Columbia University under Fred Lerdahl. He has received eight prizes in the SOCAN Foundation’s Awards for Young Composers, a 2013 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the 2015 Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award and in 2016 the Mivos/Kanter Prize and the Jacob Druckman Prize from the Aspen Music Festival, along with the Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Prize. Matthew Ricketts holds the position of Composer/Collaborator-in-Residence at East Carolina University's NewMusic Initiative from 2016 to 2018.
Thomas Pesquetis a French astronaut with the European Space Agency. He is currently on board the International Space Station as part of a six-month mission. He left in November 2016, and is working as a crew member for Expeditions 50 and 51 until his return to Earth in June 2017. Before becoming an astronaut he was an aerospace engineer and an airline pilot for Air France.
Indispensable partnerships for the OSM
The Orchestresymphonique de Montréal thanks the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Ville de Montréal for their generous support.
The Orchestresymphonique de Montréal is presented by Hydro-Québec.
BMO Financial Group is partner of the 2016-2017 season.
Air Canada is the official carrier of the OSM.
The CSA and the OSM wish to thank the ESA, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquetand Mark Terry, creator of the Pianist Pro application.
Tickets for this single performance of Organ and Spaceare available on OSM.CA or by telephone at 1 888 842-9951.
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Information (media):
Orchestresymphonique de MontréalCanadian Space Agency
NATALIE DION, Press relations— 514840-7400, ext. 7466;Media Relations Office —450-926-4370;
@canada.ca