New Frontiers: The Exoplanets

A cosmic story of love, loss, and the power of curiosity.

At the heart of Exoplanets is composer Audrey, rebuilding her life after bereavement by opening her home to seven foster children. Each child becomes a planet of their own, reshaping her life with unique energy, challenges and joy. Over three decades, their lives unfold in tandem with a growing symphonic suite, a musical tribute Audrey composes to the galaxies they build together.

Inspired by the discovery of planets beyond our solar system, Exoplanets blends live orchestral music, theatre, and real data from NASA’s James Webb space telescope. Created by City of London Sinfonia and award-winning theatre company curious directive, it features music by seven visionary composers, each exploring the sound of a different and newly discovered exoplanet.

Building on the legacy of Holst’s The Planets, this production ventures further, to celestial bodies no one could have imagined a century ago.

This is a love letter to imagination, to collaboration, and to the infinite pull of the unknown. Exoplanets is not just music. It’s a journey across space, time, and the human heart.

Presented by City of London Sinfonia and curious directive in association with Hackney Empire.

City of London Sinfonia’s New Frontiers season is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Foyle Foundation and Resonate, a PRS Foundation initiative in partnership with Association of British Orchestras and BBC Radio 3. The Exoplanets is generously supported by Arts Council England, Cockayne – Grants for the Arts, The Vaughan Williams Foundation and The Leche Trust.