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Explore!

by Tom Hench

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“Explore!” is the product of my attendance at the launch of an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on November 18, 2017 carrying a Cygnus supply mission to the International Space Station. Part of my reason for attending this event was the ultimate creation of a musical piece written to capture the excitement of this experience. The result - “Explore!”.

The piece consists of three parts, the first a spoken narrative, accompanied by a mystical woodwind background track, describing humankind’s inborn need to explore, As part one fades, part two begins with space sounds mixed from NASA’s audio archives. These sounds, including audio of Sputnik and of radio emissions from the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, provide the background for the words spoken by those who were part of our first journeys into the cosmos. Heard here are voices associated with Mercury Freedom 7, Mercury Friendship 7, Apollo 1, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7, Space Shuttle Challenger STS-8, and Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107). At the conclusion of this second part, a piano introduces the final section, a refrain proclaiming “Why do we fly? Why do we soar? Why do we break the bounds that hold us back? Because we must explore!” Accompanying me in the refrain are the wonderful voices of children. Their enthusiasm and joy captures the thrill of exploration and discovery and gives the hope that our explorations and discoveries will continue as we search for our place in the universe. Part three ends with the sound of the Antares rocket blasting off that early November morning.

I hope that you enjoy “Explore!” and that it conveys the excitement that exploration can bring. Tom Hench (March 7, 2019)

Tom Hench: Part 1 and 3 words and part 3 music
Rodney Griffith: Part 1 spoken word
Barb Jones: Director, Hockessin United Methodist Church children’s choirs
Mixed and mastered at Bayside Studio, Kitts Hummock, DE © Tom Hench 2019

credits

released August 15, 2022
Tom Hench: Part 1 and 3 words and part 3 music
Rodney Griffith: Part 1 spoken word
Barb Jones: Director, Hockessin United Methodist Church children’s choirs
Mixed and mastered at Bayside Studio, Kitts Hummock, DE © Tom Hench 2019

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Tom Hench Hockessin, Delaware

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