''Sun Rings'' is a

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

project comprising pre-recorded sounds from space, images from space, music for string quartet and chorus composed by

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

, and visuals by Willie Williams. It premiered 26 October 2002 at the Hancher Auditorium,

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. The project started in 2000 when the

NASA Art Program The NASA Art Program was established in 1962. NASA administrator, James Webb, jump-started the program by recommending artists to become involved in the agency. Artists, including Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol were commissio ...

invited the Kronos Quartet to incorporate sounds, recorded over a period of 40 years by plasma wave receivers on board spacecraft, into music.

References

External links

Sun Rings
at Kronos Quartet website
Space Audio
Compositions by Terry Riley Compositions for string quartet 2002 compositions Commissioned music Kronos Quartet albums {{chamber-composition-stub