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Summary

Experience Jules Verne's classic novel 'From the Earth to the Moon,' written in 1865, reimagined in this unique family concert.

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Our narrator, Hannah Limbrick, takes you on an adventure back in time. After the American Civil War, the Baltimore Science Society decided to use their knowledge for what was about to become the most significant collective achievement to date: They would launch a cannonball straight to the Moon.

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This concert will create an immersive, fully-involved experience. The symphony orchestra, led by composer Obe Vermeulen, who wrote an original score and story adaptaion inspired by the book, will be positioned in a large circle around the audience.

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Let yourself be carried away by this inspiring story about friendship, ambition, and willpower. Join us on an unforgettable journey from the Earth to the Moon!

Chapters

Introduction

1. Overture

2. President Barbicane's Communication

3. Barbicane's Theme - Reprise

4. The Cambridge Observatory

5. The Hymn of the Cannon-Ball

6. The Enemy

7. The Columbiad

8. Michel Ardan

9. The Duel

10. The Projectile Compartment

11. Fire & A New Star

Introduction of all the musical themes.

  • Barbicane's Theme

  • The Columbiad

  • The Enemy

  • The Hymn of the Cannon-Ball

Our story begins in America in the year 1865, shortly after the American Civil War. Jules Verne reads us from his report about the 'Barbicane Project'.

The president of the Science Society, Ellis Barbicane, summoned every member to the headquarters in Baltimore. She had important news.

Music.

The Science Society contacted the famous Cambridge Observatory. There, astronomers are observing the moon, day and night, and provided information for this ambitious project.

To celebrate the start of this amazing project, president Barbicane composed a hymn, sung by all.

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From the earth

To the moon

Fly so far

Morning till noon

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As we fly up there

Across the stars

Make a wish

Inside your heart

Captain Nicholl, president Barbicane’s old rival, was jealous of the project’s popularity. He expressed some serious concerns about the danger and impracticality of the canon. Going so far as to gamble against the project’s success.

The Science Society was actively preparing the building site in Florida for the making of the giant cannon intended for the moon-launch project. They decided to call this cannon: “The Columbiad”

It’s been years since Ellis Barbicane had heard from her old colleague Michel Ardan. He moved to France a few years ago and was a big deal in Europe. But now he was coming back, with an interesting proposition.

Captain Nicholl, filled with jealousness, couldn’t live with the fact that his two biggest rivals, Barbicane and Ardan, would both complete this mission without him. He walked up to Michel with an enormous rage and challenged him, to a duel!

The cannonball arrived in Florida; they made a few adjustments.

The weather was magnificent. The winter sun shone brightly on the Columbiad. More than five million people were waiting nervously to see our three brave heroes leave for a new world.

Creatives

Obe Vermeulen

Composer, Conductor, Book

Obe Vermeulen (°2001) is a Belgian composer and conductor. At age 15, a new composition department was created especially for him at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, where he studied for two years with Geert Callaert. Obe received his bachelor’s degree at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent, studying with Dirk Brossé and Daan Janssens. He is currently in his second year of postgraduate studies in composition and composition for screen at the RCM with Errollyn Wallen and Mike Ladouceur.

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His repertoire consists of a wide range of styles, from concert works to film, theatre & dance music. Obe’s work as music director and orchestrator for theatre, as well as his work for film, is an audible influence on his concert music. Recent collaborations include work with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Londen Musical Theatre Orchestra, English National Ballet School, Flemish Radio Choir, HERMES ensemble, Camerata Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and many others.

©FilipNaudts-4012-copyright.jpg

Hannah Limbrick

Narrator, Book

Soprano Hannah Limbrick is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the Royal College of Music, studying under Sally Burgess FRCM and coached by Bryan Evans MBE. She is the recipient of an RCM Scholarship. At the RCM, she has performed in Libby Larsen’s Barnum’s Bird as a member of the pit chorus, and, most recently, has performed in the RCM’s production of Gazzaniga’s Don Giovanni Tenorio as a member of the chorus. She has performed in venues all around the UK, examples being St John’s Smith Square and The Brighton Dome. She has also taken part in various recordings such as for Pete Townsend’s Rock-Opera The Age of Innocence. Hannah is very passionate about both Early and Contemporary Music, having last year taken part in the RCM’s annual Bach cantata project, through which she performed under the baton of Ashley Solomon in St John the Evangelist church in Oxford. She also took part in the premiere of Peter Copley’s piece Salamanca 1936 in 2020. Hannah has also taken part in many charity events such as the Homelink Gala at Glyndebourne, as well as numerous smaller concerts for charities based in and around her hometown of Lewes.

Orchestra & crew

Woodwind Quintet:

Flutes

Oboe/Cor Anglais

Clarinet

Horn

Bassoon

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Saxophone Quartet:

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Baritone

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Brass Quintet:

Trumpet I

Trumpet II

Horn

Trombone

Tuba

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String Quartet:

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

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Percussion:

Percussion I

Percussion II

Percussion III

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Keys:

Piano

Organ

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Electronics

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Crew:

Learning and Participation

Coordinator

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Concert and Venue

Manager

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Learning and Participation

Administrator

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RCM Studios

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Lighting

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Operations Supervisor

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House Manager

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Lucy Rowan

Lizzy Russel / Patricia Gomes

Connor Hargreaves

Lucas Boardman

Emily Ambrose

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Paco Lee

Rosemary Ball

Maya Mitra

Maddie Wegg

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Alex Gray

Jake Humphrey

Tom Hutchison

Akira Liu

Gavin Johnson

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Brontë Vlashi

Rubie Besin

Katharine Wing

Carolina López Del-Nero

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Leif Haley / Murray Sedgwick

Julie Scheuren

Matthew Kosciecha

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Pierre Catherine-Buffet

James Todd

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Isin Eray

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Connor Guffogg

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Grace Catell

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Jamie Baird

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Danny Holland

Anna Heath

Chloe Whatmough

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Colin Eversdijk

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Florence Williams

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Mark Traves

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© 2025 Obe Vermeulen

all rights reserved

Photography: Abodid Sahoo, Amalia Pop, Arno Devriese, Eva Serksnaite, Filip Naudts, Geertje Karpez, Ibe Van Bouchaute, Kevin De Borger, Koen Caspeele, Mirte Declercq, Quentin Thomas

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