What a treat last night. A massive combination of the student symphony orchestras from Cornell and nearby Ithaca College performed Gustav Holtz’ “The Planets”, set to an impressive slideshow of planetary images from the last quarter century. I went with my uncle, a space geek who ended up becoming one of Ithaca’s orthodonists (he always brags about doing Steve Squyres’ kids), and we got two of the last seats in the the balcony of Bailey Hall.

While “The Planets” was thoroughly enjoyably, I was chilled by a special opener, the world premiere of a percussive piece called “Anillos”, Spanish for “Rings”. Music professor Roberto Sierra composed the spooky piece, with its unnerving xylophone swells and timpanic thunder, with images from the Cassini-Huygens mission in mind. It’s amazing how visuals can inform your aural experience, and vice versa. I had always thought of Saturn as one of the most regal of planets: the crown prince to Jupiter’s king. After “Anillos”, I think of Saturn as the most menacing. The image that sends chills down my spine after the jump: a Cassini pic taken from Saturn’s lonely backside, the eclipsed sun nothing but a backlight.