Springs & Gears

The Program

A Steampunk Experience

A fusion of the historical and the fantastical, “Springs & Gears” is a Steampunk-inspired program (performed in period costume!) blending Victorian aesthetics with futuristic elements. One writer described Steampunk as “colonizing the past to dream of the future.” We’ll explore the confluence of fact and fabrication, science and fantasy, through music. With flying machines and sailing ships, clockworks and time travel, our guides range from Victorian-era composers Robert Lucas Pearsall and C. H. H. Parry to contemporary masters Eric Whitacre, Phillip Glass, and more. Come experience the adventure of marvels real and imagined.

“There is a mechanical heart in all of us, ticking away, reminding us that even clockwork can feel.” — China Miéville

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TOM MORGAN SHARES HIS INSPIRATION FOR THE CREATION OF THIS PROGRAM:
“A few years ago I attended a Steampunk-themed wedding here in Boulder County. It was both fascinating, fun, and yet profoundly moving, in its blending of past and future with an aura of hope, possibility, and adventure. The experience immediately suggested several pieces of music to me and these became the inspirational seeds for this program, which will be performed by our 12-voice professional ensemble.”

“The past is but the beginning of a beginning, and all that is or has been is but the twilight of the dawn.” – H. G. Wells, The Discovery of the Future (1902).

“In the unknown lies adventure, and in adventure lies our freedom.” – Mary Kingsley

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” – Albert Einstein