Space is the place with the bass.

The Kronos Quartet and Bay Area composer and “father” of the minimalist movement Terry Riley, will bring the sights and sounds of space to vivid life in a performance presented by Stanford Lively Arts on Friday January 18, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium.

Sun Rings, co-commissioned by NASA, is a collection of “spacescapes” includes sounds harvested from the farthest reaches of our solar system and features the combined forces of the Stanford Chamber Chorale, under the direction of Stephen M. Sano. A free pre-performance discussion precedes the concert.

“Space is surely the realm of dreams and imagination and a fertile feeding ground for poets and musicians,” say composer Terry Riley. “Ancient astrologers were aware of the significant influences of planetary movements on our lives. I feel these influences are somehow responsible for this amazing collaboration which has been so enthusiastically undertaken by all the participants responsible for its outcome.”

The space sounds that Terry Riley used in his work come from University of Iowa Professor Don Gurnett’s favorite sounds of space. These sounds were recorded by U of I instruments on a variety of spacecraft over the past 40 years.