Report by Freda Rockliffe

On Saturday 23 October 2021, the York Astronomical Society (YAS) organised an exciting concert of music and astronomy inspired by the wonders of the night sky, in collaboration with the York Railway Institute Brass Band (YRIB).

The music ranged from extracts from the classics; Holst Planet Suite Mars and Jupiter to Bowie’s Life on Mars. Movie soundtracks included; Star Wars and ET themes. Dr David Lancaster composed a moving piece about the transit of Venus accompanied by breathtaking images of the transit. Traditional pieces included Moonlight Serenade and Fly me to the moon. 

The music was accompanied by a backdrop of stunning images of the planets, galaxies and nebulae; some from the Hubble NASA collection compiled by Martin Whipp. Gerry Fisher presented his own images of the DSOs visible above York and others taken by YAS members (Graham Moore, Martin Dawson, Dave Armeson, Qamar Uddin).

This collaboration between two historical York societies certainly created an inspiring atmosphere (see photos). The event was publicised widely in the York news media and was sold-out well before the actual event date. Many of the delegates have given positive feedback and would welcome similar events organised by YAS and YRIB in the future, too.