At the end of July 2024, the renowned Ravinia Festival held this year’s installment of its annual Breaking Barriers Festival. The Breaking Barriers Festival is dedicated to lifting up and celebrating marginalized voices, and CIERA was honored to participate in this year’s events which were themed around women in astronomy and music. This year’s Breaking Barriers program was highly interdisciplinary, highlighting how both music and astronomy seek to deepen humanity’s connections and understanding of the universe. 
On July 26, CIERA Director Vicky Kalogera participated in a panel discussion and dinner on the topic at the Ravinia Tree Top Lounge. Moderated by Dr. Michelle Larson, President & CEO of the Adler Planetarium, the panel also included Ravinia Chief Conductor Marin Alsop and celebrated composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg. The discussion invited panelists’ thoughts on their work and its respective relationship to public engagement and learning. Alsop spoke to the influence of personal connections on the interpretation of compositions like Falkenberg’s piece The Moons Symphony, debuting at the Festival later that night. Falkenberg discussed the importance of scientific accuracy in astronomically-inspired music and how she translates it into her work. Professor Kalogera spoke to the importance of being able to “hear” our universe through gravitational waves and how astronomical research can enhance the music appreciation experience. Fittingly, an often-evoked metaphor for the diversity and abundance of gravitational waves is the “cosmic symphony”.
We invite you to view a full recording of the panel at the link below:
After the discussion, event participants had the rare opportunity to hear Marin Alsop lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and singers from the Apollo Chorus of Chicago in performances of The Planets by Gustav Holst and Amanda Lee Falkenberg’s The Moons Symphonic Suite. The symphony, accompanied by stunning on-screen visuals, was composed with the invaluable insights of the planetary scientists who have studied (and in many cases, worked on missions to) each of the seven moons featured in the piece. Just two days before the performance, on July 24, CIERA hosted 46 in-person participants for “An Earthling’s Guide to The Moons Symphony”, a preparatory panel discussion moderated by Mat Kaplan, Space science communicator for The Planetary Society. A recording of the July 24 event can be heard on The Planetary Society’s podcast. 
CIERA is thrilled to have been able to participate in this year’s Breaking Barriers series and we extend our gratitude to Ravinia Festival for the opportunity and all attendees for helping uplift the voices of women in space and music.