The Radio Science Orchestra presents
Wireless Wonder Stories - A Space Opera
We propose a 3D immersive musical performance combining live strings with the unique sounds of the theremin, Moog synthesiser, ondes Martenot and science fiction themes to transport our audience into a retro future.
Our performance will feature projected archive video footage, creating a visually stunning backdrop to the music. The theremin, a space-controlled electronic instrument known for its otherworldly sound, will be at the forefront of the performance, accompanied by the rich, electronic tones of the Moog synthesizer.
The music will be sci-fi inspired, with themes and imagery drawn from classic and contemporary works in the genre. We will take our audience on a journey through time and space, evoking the sense of wonder and possibility that has always been at the heart of science fiction.
The target audience for this performance is a psychographic of individuals who are interested in music, technology, and science fiction. These are people who are curious and open-minded, with a desire to experience innovative forms of entertainment. They are likely to be early adopters of new technologies and ideas, and always looking for unique and exciting experiences.
The Radio Science Orchestra draws on historical vignettes to rediscover iconic early electronic works together with new music for the twenty-first century. Chapters include “Sputnik: Fellow Traveller”, “Robots on Mars”, “Music out of the Moon”, and “Video Killed the Radio Star: How the Future Began”.
The performance will include contributions from acclaimed international theremin performers and guest artists. In the company of the RSO, an audience can expect an evening of “Hi-Fi Sci-Fi”, previously-unheard transcriptions and space-age exotica, revealing astonishing links between the conquest of space and the dawn of electronic music.
STAGE: instrumentation includes string section, theremins, ondes Martenot, Moog and modular synthesisers, sounds of the VCS3, concert harp, saxophones, vocal harmonies, clavioline, keyboard, electric guitar, bass, percussion, replica valve theremin, 3D sound and visuals.
MUSIC: spanning Claude Debussy, Kraftwerk, Barry Gray, Henry Purcell, Delia Derbyshire, Moog, Raymond Scott, the set also includes original RSO compositions and transcriptions of Music out the Moon (famously transmitted from space by astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969).
FILM: drawing on declassified test footage, public information film, B-movies and vintage advertisements, the production will be accompanied by videograms charting the Space Race and Apollo Programme, including the first manned lunar landing in July 1969.
WORD: provided by an acclaimed special guest, this is a novel presentation of rare broadcasts of top secret archival material, interspersed with sampled voices, period audio, and FX from Ground-To-Earth transmission tapes.
THE RADIO SCIENCE ORCHESTRA
A modular Space Age Pop ensemble inspired by the birth of electronic music and the retro future: uniting Theremin, Martenot and Moog, the Radio Science Orchestra brings exotica, neoclassical and lounge from the birth of radio to the atomic age and beyond. The ensemble has met with critical acclaim for its performances at TED, Mexico CDI, Southbank Centre, London’s ICA, the Shanghai Music Festival, the Bath ICIA, the British Library, Blue Dot and Glastonbury Festival.
Bruce Woolley (Vocals, Theremin, Guitar, Arrangement)
Bruce Woolley is an English record producer and composer, co-founder of the Radio Science Orchestra. His writing and collaborative credits include Thomas Dolby, Grace Jones, Nicki Minaj, Baz Luhrmann, the Orb and Will.i.am. In 1981 Bruce's international hit - the Ivor Novello Award-nominated "Video Killed The Radio Star" – became the first song aired on MTV.
Andy Visser (Saxophones, Vox, Keys, Arrangement, Electronics)
Co-founder of the RSO, Andy is a multi-instrumentalist, playing saxophones, keyboards, flute, bass clarinet and electronics in various lineups including Death in Vegas, ONL, The Alice Band and the Radio Science Orchestra. As a sound designer, he has worked on international projects for Sony, Nokia, Dolby, Samsung and Shell’s “Electric Storm”. Andy’s compositions have been broadcast on terrestrial TV and Radio networks. He released his first album “One” to critical acclaim.
Chris Elliott (Keys, Arrangements)
Chris Elliott is a leading UK based composer and arranger who works across the music and film / TV industries. A highly versatile musician, Chris has worked with a wide variety of producers, directors and artists on projects including Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Adele, Rag’n’Bone Man, Liam Gallagher, Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Orbital, Inflo and Baz Lurhmann on the Oscar winning film Moulin Rouge! A founder member of the Radio Science Orchestra, he is now a successful solo recording artist in his own right.
Charlie Draper (Theremin, Ondes, Text, Transcriptions)
Charlie Draper plays the space-controlled theremin and the ondes Martenot. He has performed for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Oslo Opera House, WorldCon Philharmonic Orchestra, British Library, WOMAD Festival, Welsh National Opera House, London ExCEL Centre, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Joe's Pub NYC, and been heard on ITV, Channel 4, BBC 1, BBC Radio 3, and BuzzFeed. He has played many principal works for theremin and orchestra, including Schillinger's "First Airphonic Suite" (UK premiere), Rózsa's "Spellbound Concerto", Herrmann's "Suite from the Day the Earth Stood Still" and Elfman's "Mars Attacks!".
Dorit Chrysler (Theremin, Vox)
Dorit Chrysler is a renowned Austrian born composer, thereminist and sound artist. She has written music for films, TV and video art featured in museum collections such as the Guggenheim and MoMA. Dorit co-founded the New York Theremin Society and developed a curriculum for Learning How To Play The Theremin when establishing the first international school of theremin "KidCoolThereminSchool". She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and she curated Theremin100, a compilation featuring 50 international Theremin Artists to commemorate the Centennial of the Theremin in 2020.
“Mars is the only known planet inhabited solely by robots...”
“. . . . For ever since immortal Man hath glowed, with all kinds of mechanics, and full soon, steam engines will conduct him to the Moon . . .”
“‘Memories Of The Future is a brave and highly idiosyncratic undertaking ... combining the information-rich commentary .... the music of The Radio Science Orchestra and a dense visual narrative, they manage to execute their concept with considerable panache and charm.”
“By the end of ‘Born Under Sputnik’ . . . . The RSO have achieved something very intriguing. We are no longer calculating or measuring the interaction between the narrative and the music, but are fully absorbed into the newsreel of our memories of the future.”
“The theremin specifically, and Leon Theremin’s work in general, is the biggest, fattest, most important cornerstone of the whole electronic music medium. That’s where it all began”