When describing the reason why the United States government created the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, famed science communicator and astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson cited the Apollo missions to the moon as the primary impetus. On the subject, Dr. Tyson said, “a cosmic perspective can descend on you such that your survival and the survival of others are aligned in a way that maybe you’re going to do something about it.”

The musical composition A Cosmic Perspective dives into the PhD research of Katie Osborn (UCLA Environmental Engineering), unraveling reams of data from NASA’s Sentinel satellites studying the bar-built estuaries of the California coast into a work for brass quintet and film projection. Just as estuaries join rivers and oceans, A Cosmic Perspective attempts to demonstrate humanity’s inarguable effect on our environment and urges our scientists, artists, and citizens to collaborate—to take action with the unifying perspective from above of our shared blue gem.

Difficulty: Advanced | Duration: 10′

Trumpet 1: Piccolo Trumpet, Trumpet in B-flat (plunger mute, straight mute, harmon mute), Flugelhorn

Trumpet 2: Trumpet in B-flat (plunger mute, straight mute, harmon mute), Flugelhorn

Horn in F (plunger mute, harmon mute)

Trombone (plunger mute, harmon mute)

Tuba