Nelson Ogliastri, bachelor Jazz student (bass) at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA), is collaborating with astronaut and scientist André Kuipers on his graduation project Birth and Death of a Star. The educational and musical project hopes to spark the curiosity of the general public at schools and universities about space and the place of humanity in it.
Ogliastri composed music inspired by the life cycle of a star: "I wanted the music to be representative of our connection to the stars. How the elements inside our bodies were in fact created out of exploding stars, freeing elements like carbon, calcium and iron, which later became part of our muscles, bones and blood."
Ogliastri wants to reach as many people as possible with his music, therefore he contacted André Kuipers. Together they made a video in which Kuipers speaks about the evolution of the stars and their connection with human beings. Ogliastri says: "I thought the best person to share this message would be someone who had actually been in space. Someone who had witnessed this level of connectivity from a privileged spot: a place like the International Space Station. And so, André Kuipers, a man who has left earth twice and has lived 204 days in space, became the perfect person to reach out to." The video will be projected during the performance he wants to take to schools and universities. Ogliastri asked the Polish artist Pawel Kuczynski, whose drawings won many prices, to create the artwork.
Nelson Ogliastri graduates this year from the bachelor Jazz at the CvA and wants to continue with the master Composing for Film, a collaboration with the Netherlands Film Academy. For his graduation project he collaborates with Laura Polence, singer and graduate of the CvA, CvA master students Pol Belardi, Lennart Altgenug and bachelor student Jeroen Batterink.
His performance can be seen at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in the Rough Diamonds Series on 4 May. On 23 June he will stage his graduation performance in the Amsterdam Blue Note at the CvA.
For more information, please check the project website
