Lunchtime Concert:
THE PALE BLUE DOT
Documentary Film Screening:
THE FARTHEST
Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 1:00 pm
O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, University of Galway
The Pale Blue Dot: The Voyager Golden Record Reimagined For Our Time
ELEVATION ENSEMBLE
Gina Maria McGuinness, violin | Karen Dervan, viola | Aoife Burke, cello | Daniel Bodwell, double bass
“To the makers of music — all worlds, all times…” Those words were etched onto the Golden Records that were affixed to NASA’s Voyager spacecraft in 1977 — humanity’s message to the cosmos, carrying music, sound, and greetings from Earth into the vastness of interstellar space. Nearly fifty years later, Elevation Ensemble reimagines that extraordinary cultural time capsule in a unique new multimedia performance by an ensemble of Galway-based musicians.
The performance is accompanied by stunning visuals from video designer Manuela Corbari, while Brendan Owens, Astronomer Emeritus for the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, brings the story and science of the Voyager mission vividly to life.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTS IN ACTION, OLLSCOIL NA GAILLIMHE-UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY
TICKETS FOR LUNCHTIME CONCERT
Although these concerts are free, it is advisable to register to avoid disappointment.
The link to register will be available one week before the performance date.
Our lunchtime performances are designated as Relaxed Performances. This means that in this context we strive to create a welcoming space for everyone, to provide a chance for us all to enjoy the best of music with the understanding that some of us may benefit from a more relaxed setting. To make these concerts more accessible, rather than producing written programme notes, the artists will introduce the pieces they have chosen. This also means that we all (including the artists) will be accepting and welcoming, should there be more movement or sound in the room. In this context we embrace the fact that enjoyment comes in all shapes and sizes!
2.30PM – 4.30pm FILM SCREENING: THE FARTHEST
Huston School of Film & Digital Media
Following the performance, make your way to the Huston School of Film to see a screening of The Farthest.
It is one of humankind’s greatest achievements. More than 12 billion miles away a tiny spaceship is leaving our Solar System and entering the void of deep space – the first human-made object ever to do so. Slowly dying within its heart is a nuclear generator that will beat for perhaps another decade before the lights on Voyager finally go out. But this little craft will travel on for millions of years, carrying a Golden Record bearing recordings and images of life on Earth. In all likelihood Voyager will outlive humanity.
THE FARTHEST celebrates these magnificent machines, the men and women who built them and the vision that propelled them farther than anyone could ever have hoped. Written and directed by Emer Reynolds Produced by Crossing The Line Productions Ireland, 2017. The director will be in attendance.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH HUSTON SCHOOL OF FILM, OLLSCOIL NA GAILLIMHE-UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY
TICKETS FOR FILM SCREENING
Although this screening is free, it is advisable to register to avoid disappointment.
