The World Science Festival (www.worldsciencefestival.com) today announced a sweeping line-up of cutting-edge and innovative science programming, designed to make science captivating and accessible to the general public. The Festival will bring together dozens of Nobel laureates, esteemed artists and performers, distinguished researchers and scientists, renowned authors, and top policy makers to create a five-day science extravaganza with dozens of events in venues throughout New York City from June 10-14, 2009.
Co-founded in 2008 by Brian Greene, Columbia University professor of physics and mathematics and author of the bestseller The Elegant Universe, and Tracy Day, Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer, the World Science Festival is an unprecedented celebration of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity that brings science out of the laboratory and into the streets, theaters, museums, and public halls of New York City.
Through five days of discourse and debate, film and theater, exploration and discovery, the Festival seeks to shift the public's perception of science as an esoteric and intimidating academic subject, by highlighting its relevance to everyday life, revealing the wondrous insights it provides, and examining its critical role in meeting the grand challenges facing the world.
Distinguished participants will include, among others:
· Legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning pioneer E.O. Wilson;
· Nobel Prize-winning scientists - James Watson, Harold Varmus, David Gross, Frank Wilczek, Sir Paul Nurse and William Phillips;
· Esteemed researchers - James Hansen, Daniel Wegner, Erich Jarvis, Daniel Levitin and Margaret Livingstone;
· Renowned authors - Bill McKibben and Irene Pepperberg;
· Celebrated artists - Alan Alda, Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, Joshua Bell, James Naughton, Marin Alsop and Anna Deavere Smith.
Highlights of the Festival's events include:
2009 Opening Night Celebration:
· Star-studded Opening Celebration - Harrison Ford, Alan Alda, Glenn Close, and a glittering cast including Joshua Bell, two-time Tony Award winner James Naughton, comic star of "South Pacific" Danny Burstein, award-winning actress Anna Deavere Smith, The Inspirational Voices of The Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir, and students of the National Dance Institute, will come together for the opening night launch of the 2009 World Science Festival. Celebrating the 80th birthday of E.O. Wilson, America's preeminent naturalist and a founding father of the environmental movement, the evening's festivities will include the New York premiere of "LIFE: A Journey Through Time"- a moving and majestic concert piece, specially adapted for the World Science Festival. This special adaptation sets the lyrical imagery of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting to an original score by the renowned composer Philip Glass, and will be performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under the baton of acclaimed conductor Marin Alsop. The event is being produced in collaboration with Lincoln Center and directed by Damian Woetzel, recently retired star of the New York City Ballet. (June 10, 7:00 PM, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center)
