On March 4, the ISO held a "First Mondays" event with Prof. Barrett Caldwell and composer and former ISO Principal Trombone James Beckel. They discussed music and engineering, and answered audience questions. The ISO performed a mini-version of the score of Beckel's "From the Earth to the Moon and Beyond", part of a space-themed concert series of "interstellar" music to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. 

"I enjoyed it very much, especially the ability to make connections with something in the piece of music, and Jim Beckel's thoughts while doing it," said Caldwell, who also directs the Indiana Space Grant Consortium. "[We were] an engineer and artist, appreciating each other's disciplines and the mutual need for sharing."

"One of the things I most appreciated was the ability to explore creativity and exploration and how these very special aspects of human experience cross disciplinary boundaries," continued Barrett. "I was able to enjoy interacting with Jim on a variety of topics, and make connections to a number of different ideas."

He added: "One of the things I love most about research and engagement is the ability to make connections. Jim was explaining his desire to highlight the Big Bang as a creation of 'everything', and thus he talked to the audience about how to connect all of the twelve tones of the Western scale in just a few seconds of music. Within a few seconds, we were talking about the 'Coltrane Changes' in the first few bars of the classic piece, 'Giant Steps', as another creative exploration of moving across chords and notes - and connections across ideas, if you will."

Earlier, the ISO interviewed Caldwell about the relationship between art and science, and will show video excerpts of it during the 2019 concert series. 

"Life is better when I can create an overlap set with other creative people," said Caldwell. "I have the experience of being inspired beyond words by space exploration and engineering. All of these weave together in a tapestry of beauty." 

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu