Creative Assembly Cohort member Steve Lands presents “Rearranging the Planets,” a new musical performance reinterpreting composer Gustav Holst’s influential orchestral suite “The Planets.”

With his original composition, Lands uses Holst’s work as a jumping off point to explore the varied relationships civilizations have had to the heavens over time. While Holst structured his suite—which premiered at the Queen’s Hall in London in 1918—around the Solar System and its Greco-Roman mythological namesakes, Rearranging the Planets casts a broader net to consider how societies around the world have looked to the stars. In the words of planetary scientist Carl Sagan, “We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”

Featuring Shea Pierre; Alfred Jordan, Jr.; Xavier Molina; Max Moran; John Maestas; Gladney; Amari Ansari; and Cubs the Poet. With additional credits to Francis Wong, Camille Lenain, Meghan Stewart, and Amina Scott.

Camera: Milan Daemgen, J. Alejandro Moreno

Sound Recording: John Berguno

Editor: Milan Daemgen

NOMA’s Creative Assembly community engagement initiative is supported by the Wagner Foundation.