Many of you may know that in my college days I pursued dual degrees, studying both Music and Physics, and that the intersection of these fields is near to my heart. In Professor Buehler, head of MIT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and one of the most prolific scientists of his generation (google him), I have found a like minded soul. Buehler is fascinated (some might say obsessed) with exploring links between the natural and artistic worlds. In this pre-concert discussion, we discussed his work not only to describe art through mathematical systems, but also his research translating proteins into sound, in which the structure of amino acids are "sonified" into performable musical compositions!
Following this discussion we performed Bach's Goldberg Variations, in an arrangement for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky. In the interest of time, we did not observe the repeats in the score—but don't worry, we'll be sharing another performance of the full piece!