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A PROFESSOR OF DENTISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CELEBRATES HIS LOVE OF MUSIC AND SCIENCE BY COMMISSIONING A STRING QUARTET COMPOSITION THAT INCORPORATES SOUNDS COLLECTED FROM THE VASTNESS OF OUTER SPACE AND FAR-AWAY GALAXIES.

Football and basketball are big in the university town of Iowa City where the 60,000 residents include 28,000 students. But the University's Hancher Auditorium for the Performing Arts is big too, important as a destination for world-class musicians and as a presenter and instigator of new music.

William and Amilie Rubright

It was at Hancher that Dr. William Rubright, a university professor of dentistry, and his wife began their love affair with new music. Both of them had played musical instruments "a little" as a hobby, as had their two children, now grown. But once they heard the Kronos string quartet, a whole new universe opened up…

"My wife, Amilie, and I began attending concerts at Hancher Auditorium many years ago and that's where, in 1988, we first heard the Kronos Quartet. They were pioneers in experimental music. It was the first time we'd heard anything quite like that. It was exciting and I thought, how terrific to have that kind of musical experimentation in a university setting where academic excellence and experimentation should flourish.

Kronos has returned almost every year since then and we enjoyed the performances so much that we started hosting a party for the quartet after their performances. The Kronos would bring their entourage, Hancher would invite some guests and my wife and I would invite our friends-it would be quite a houseful and always a good time. Over the years we got to know the musicians pretty well.

Since I'd taught at the university for 35 years, it's very close to my heart and I wanted to give something back. Supporting a group like Kronos by commissioning new music seemed like a way to bring enrichment to a lot of people. So my wife and I funded our first commissions through Hancher in the mid-1990s.

My latest commission was in the works for a few years and was performed last season. Entitled Sun Rings, it involved one of the University's astrophysicists, Professor Donald Gurnett, who had been listening to and collecting sounds from outer space. The composer Terry Riley incorporated those sounds into his music written especially for the Kronos Quartet. It's interesting that in addition to funding from me, the piece also got some support from NASA. I was surprised to find out NASA supports the arts sometimes and that was rather refreshing.

A few days before the premiere, Dr. Gurnett gave a lecture on campus, which was fun for me because I hadn't been in a physics lecture hall since my student days-say about 40 years ago!

Dr. Gurnett talked about the space noises-which sounded like whistles at times-and explained how he collected them. He used digital instruments to show the parameters of the sound frequencies visually. It was fascinating! Then David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet talked about his excitement in first hearing these sounds and Terry Riley explained how he used them in the music.

On the night of the concert, there was another hour-long lecture for the general public. And during the performance itself, there was a light show of outer space images so you had a visual experience too. The whole thing gave you such an eerie feeling as if you were right out there experiencing the sounds of space, while the music interpreted for you. It was terrific.

Dr. Rubright (right) with his wife Amilie (left) and composer Philip Glass

I was impressed with how many people showed up to hear this merging of two distinctly different disciplines-music and science. There was a lot of interest in the project and people talked about it for a long time afterward. It made me feel good when I heard people say that they appreciated my support. Amilie was still alive when we started our involvement with the project but she died the year before the premiere. So Hancher announced that it was supported by me in memory of Amilie and I thought it was the right way to remember her. The night of the concert, our son and daughter came from out of state and we had a lot of family members there. Friends came to the concert, saw her name in the program, and knew that she was still a part of something we really loved.

One of the most important aspects to me in supporting Hancher and new music is the active outreach program. In the days preceding the performance, the visiting artists really extend themselves into the community and play for school children and other groups. I think this is essential, something that must be done. As part of my involvement with our local music scene, I've also starting supporting a terrific early music duo called Red Cedar Music.

My professional career has been spent in the college of dentistry, mostly with third year dental students who are in their mid-twenties. They are all fresh and eager to learn and excited. That's the quality I find in my involvement with new music-it's invigorating and creative and productive.

I plan to do more commissions for the Kronos Quartet. Through commissioning, I've met so many interesting people I wouldn't have known otherwise. I'm looking forward to giving the next party at my house where people can get to know the artists. Getting people together to enjoy each other's company-for me, that's really fun.