Yo-Yo Ma - Spiegel im Spiegel

Overview

Spiegel im Spiegel is a musical piece by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The name roughly translates to “Mirror within a mirror”

Photo credit: UN Partnerships/Pier Paolo Cito

Project Description

My involvement in this project began in 2022 through Zion Jackson and THE OFFICE performing arts + film, and has continued under Sophie Shakleton and Sound Postings.

My responsibilities have included researching, arranging, and experimenting with images- as well as timeline editing and final video delivery. The video itself is designed to accompany the live musical performance and could be modified for a variety of audiences around the world.

Images from Hubble and James Webb telescopes

We began with images of our universe from the Hubble and James Webb telescopes, paying special attention to the visuals connections that emerge between the macro and micro world.

Soon after the first event in Paris, we began preparing an evolution of the sequence for another event in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. This sequence includes images from photographer Austin Mann , and aimed to connect deeply with the specific region of the performance.

Beyond 2023, the performance travelled all over the world (in a variety of venues). Each time, we intentionally found new images that spoke to the geography of the region. This resulted in nearly a dozen unique sequences- all beginning with the universal patterns of outer space, but merging into the unique colors shapes of each place.

Photo credit: Austin Mann

Performance History

2022
Paris, France

2023
Smokey Mountains, TN, USA
UN Headquarters, NYC, USA
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

2024
Davos, Switzerland
Philadelphia, PA
Florida, USA
Charleston, NC, USA
Arizona, USA
Texas, USA
Oklahoma, USA
Chicago, USA
Washington D.C., USA
Boston, USA
San Francisco, USA
Los Angeles, USA
London, UK
Reykjavík, Iceland
Stockholm, Sweden

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Zion Jackson and THE OFFICE performing arts + film for the initial collaboration, and Sophie Shakleton and Sound Postings for continued partnership.

Thank you to Austin Mann for the beautiful imagery.