Nitin Sawhney: Orbiting Orbital

A new multi-disciplinary meditation on the value of humanity and our planet for reflection and performance.

Award-winning composer and musician Nitin Sawhney joins forces with celebrated author Samantha Harvey for a powerful new commission, premiered by the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Inspired by Harvey’s Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital, a remarkable, lyrical meditation on life aboard a space station, this new work features six new poems by Harvey, accompanied by six new pieces of music and a special new cantata composed by Sawhney, taking inspiration from Orbital. Alongside this new work will be some more familiar pieces. In addition, Antony Gormley has contributed six specially selected drawings to accompany the work. The project will also feature photographs by Mary McCartney as part of the journey.

Together, they offer shifting perspectives on identity, human connection, and a world beyond borders, zooming into the personal and out to the planetary, exploring what it means to live, feel and belong in an interconnected universe. 

Part of Utopia Now!, a season exploring the role of the arts in making a better future possible.

Performers

BBC Concert Orchestra 

Nitin Sawhney piano & guitar 

Aref Durvesh tabla & dholak 

Eos Counsell violin 

Shapla Salique vocals 

YVA vocals