Pianist Gabriela Montero, who dazzled Ravinia audiences with her unique classical improvisations at her 2009 Ravinia debut, returns for Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto on a program that also features this year’s One Score, One Chicago selection, Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Both works breathe symphonic fire, and The Planets will be enhanced with visually stunning film images courtesy of the Adler Planetarium. This is truly music that can move the heavens!

José Francisco Salgado is an Emmy-nominated astronomer at the Adler Planetarium and Executive Director and Visual Artist of KV 265, a non-profit organization whose mission is the communication of science through art. He uses his skills in astronomy, education, and visual arts to create multimedia works that provoke curiosity and a sense of wonder about the Earth and the Universe. His Science and Symphony films have been presented more than 75 times in 14 countries including collaborations with the Boston Pops and Buzz Aldrin, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Donald Lubowich, Coordinator of the Astronomy Outreach Program at Hofstra University, will give concertgoers a spectacular glimpse of the heavens.

This NASA–sponsored program will include observations of the Sun prior to the concert and the Moon, Saturn, Mars, multi-colored double stars, star clusters, and nebulae at intermission and after the concert – combined with posters and hands-on-activities.

The Adler Planetarium, KV 265, Chicago Astronomical Society, Northwest Suburban Astronomer, Astronomy Magazine, Skokie Valley Astronomers, Astronomy Outreach Foundation and the Naperville Astronomical Association will assist with this program.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics and Science in Society at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago will be on hand to present exciting demonstrations and activities, and to answer questions about careers in science, celestial objects and events, and the latest astronomical discoveries.