By pure cosmic coincidence, an astronaut who played violin aboard a spacecraft will perform at Mount Wilson Observatory on July 20 — the exact date humans first walked on the moon 56 years ago.
Sarah Gillis, engineer and astronaut for the Polaris Dawn Project, will reprise “Rey’s Theme” from “Star Wars” at two concerts inside the historic 100-inch telescope dome, the same piece she performed while orbiting Earth in the Dragon spacecraft.
“I did not realize that until my partner told me: ‘Wow, did you choose that date on purpose?’ I replied: ‘No, Why?’ He said: ‘This is the anniversary of the first human steps on the Moon.’ Which left me speechless and ecstatic,” said Cécilia Tsan, artistic director of the Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome series.
The alignment emerged from a Hollywood recording session with composer John Williams, where Tsan met Gillis. “That left me in awe, witnessing her enthusiasm and versatility. Then the idea blossomed in my head: we should invite Sarah Gillis to play at Mount Wilson: an astronaut violinist, she belonged there,” Tsan recalled.
The July 20 concerts at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. will feature Gillis performing the “Star Wars” theme, followed by a Beethoven Trio with Los Angeles Philharmonic concertmaster Martin Chalifour, pianist Timothy Durkovic, and Tsan. The program concludes with Schumann’s Piano Quintet, adding violist Andrew Duckles.
This marks the first piano performance in the series’ eight-year history. The Steinway grand, once owned by Jascha Heifetz and Pete Jolly, survived the recent Eaton fire when owner Drew Dembowski, former Pasadena Symphony Principal Bass, had temporarily moved it from his home, which burned down.
Inside the dome where Edwin Hubble discovered the expanding universe, cathedral-like acoustics add “special magic to the sound,” Tsan explained.
The series, launched in 2017, represents a fusion of art and science. “Both mind and heart can join forces to make this world a better place,” said Tsan. Playing with the dome open to the sky “makes you believe in transcendence and soothes the soul.”
Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome: Celebrating the First Walk on the Moon will run on Sunday, July 20 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Mt. Wilson Observatory, 100 Mount Wilson Circle Road, in Pasadena. For more call (626) 214-8030 or visit https://www.mtwilson.edu/events/concert072025/. Tickets: $60
