Celebrating People Preserving Our Planet
Bridging indigenous cultures, women's wisdom, and environmental science through soul-stirring films, workshops, and inspiring musical performances.
Paradigm Shifts Programs presented 6 performances in Brooklyn with:
• NASA Astronaut Michael J. Massimino who spoke about his space walking experience in repairing the Hubble Space Telescope;
• Columbia University Professor Joe Patterson who spoke about the upcoming 2017 eclipse and global telescopes and the network for backyard Astrophysics;
• David J. Helfand, Astronomy Chairman of Columbia University who showed a film and spoke about, “We’re Made of Star Stuff;”
• Zephyr Penoyre, Astrophysicist at Columbia University, led a panel on inspiration & careers in astronomy;
• The cast of performers spoke about their experience attending Space Camp and how they developed their roles. The composer, director led panels on the science and music connections in
The Astronaut’s Tale.
• Science Meets Music, an Interactive Electromagnetism Workshop for young students, ages 9 and up, at the South Oxford Space in Brooklyn, featuring a hands-on demonstration of how the Theremin works by a top Theremin musician, Rob Schwimmer. Scholarship tickets made available to middle and high school students and teachers.
In Manhattan, Paradigm Shifts held 5 Community Outreach Engagements at various venues:
•The Museum of Natural History for the Amateur Astronomers’ Association
•The Astronomy Public Outreach Program at Columbia University (3 engagements)
•The New York Institute of Technology for students (3 engagements)
•The Stein Senior Center
The opera portion of Paradigm Shifts presented staged scenes from Blood of Angels, a new opera about the early Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s with 27 singers and musical staff at the Manhattan School of Music for New American Opera Previews, with an audience talk-back with singers, composer and director, and moderated by Midge Woolsey, of Channel Thirteen PBS for 1 performance, reaching 200 audience members of students and general audience.
A lively and engaging demonstration of the intersection between music and electricity, led by physicist and designer Karen Patwa. In this interactive workshop, guests received an informative introduction to electromagnetism, built to take home and their own electric motor, and learned about and experience an exciting musical performance on the theremin by Rob Schwimmer, one of the top theremin virtuosos in the world.
FUN FACT:
The theremin employs electricity to produce unique sounds,
including the spooky sounds played in horror movies!
After receiving her B.A. in physics from Bryn Mawr College, Karen Patwa studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has taught physics and mathematics for over a decade in public and private schools in New York City.
Photo by Julie Mardin
Rob Schwimmer is one of the top theremin virtuosos in the world and co-director of The New York Theremin Society. He has performed in global venues such as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the Colosseum. He has worked with Gotye, Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, Arif Mardin, Marc Shaiman, and many more!