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May 20th, 2024

School Concert at Shore Country Day, Beverly MA

The Orchestra on the Hill will demonstrate the instruments of the orchestra and inspire students to imagine images and stories as they listen to music.
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November 8th at 7pm, 2024 at Kresge Auditorium at MIT, Cambridge MA

November 9th at 7pm & November 10th, 2024 at 3:00pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center, Ipswich, MA 

The Music Within
Science from a New Perspective

Artistic Director Tom Palance was not a “science kid” growing up. To the contrary, he readily admits that he found the subject to be a frustrating mix of the intimidating and the boring. So, he was surprised when he found himself fascinated by an MIT professor’s research on the sonification of amino acids. Dr. Markus Buehler’s work centers on the vibrations produced by amino acids and how these vibrations can be measured and sequentially transcribed into musical scales. Intrigued by the compositional possibilities presented by this scientific phenomenon, Palance began writing musical pieces that reflected the vibrations, joining artistic expression with scientific structure to produce works that are strikingly original and revealing.

     The results inspired Palance to recruit Chris Florio, Assistant Artistic Director of the Orchestra, as well as other science-minded musicians to discuss how these compositions could be used to introduce principles of biology to audiences of all ages. In 2023, Palance, Florio, and Buehler created an educational program that embraced this interdisciplinary approach. The program was presented at New England Biolabs’ corporate facility in Ipswich, Massachusetts and the MIT Science Museum in conjunction with the annual Cambridge Science Fair. The experience led Palance to reflect on his younger self and how the program would have resonated in a deeper and more lasting way than the conventional classroom instruction he remembers.

     The Music Within represents a continuation and deepening of the ideas explored by Palance, Florio, and Buehler in their earlier collaboration. The project will include a series of public orchestral concerts and a school-based STEAM program to introduce the scientific principles of proteins and amino acids through the sensory experience of music. In a larger sense, the project will offer an alternative approach to the study of science, one that expands our understanding and communicates the subject in a way that will be more accessible and immediate for many people. The goal is to demonstrate that science and the arts are equally intertwined and can work in harmony to support each other.

The Concerts

Original orchestral works by Palance, Florio, Buehler and others will be performed by The Orchestra on the Hill at three concerts, free of charge to the public. The new works will be driven by the vibration sequencing of particular amino acids, joining scientific principles with each composer’s individual artistic interpretation. Illustrative videography will also accompany the concerts to create a rich multimedia experience. Dr. Buehler will introduce the concerts with an instructive view into his research and findings.

     The first concert will be held on November 8, 2024 in the 1,200-seat Kresge Auditorium on the campus of MIT. The Orchestra is excited to bring its music to one of the great scientific centers of the world and reach new audiences in the Metro Boston area.

     Two additional concerts will directly follow on November 9th and 10th at the Dolan Performance Center in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

 

School-based Educational Outreach

In addition to the concerts, the Orchestra is creating and presenting an educational program for high school students in select North Shore schools that support STEAM education. A team of composers from the Orchestra will demonstrate Dr. Buehler’s findings and share methods for understanding how science and the arts intersect as a means to foster accelerated interest and curiosity in both disciplines.

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