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'The Planets:' Video, choir will accompany orchestra in Holst masterworkEL PASO, Feb 21, 2010 (El Paso Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Veteran film and video editor Robert D. "Bobby" Gutierrez said the video he's created for next weekend's El Paso Symphony Orchestra concerts should be out of this world. There's an art to editing hundreds of still photos and video into a cohesive visual document. "I tell my students, it's like a pile of wood, and you build something out of it," said Gutierrez, a senior lecturer in UTEP's film studies and digital media production department. He had a lot of "wood" with which to build the 52.5-minute video he nailed together for Gustav Holst's "The Planets." It's pieced together from 300 still photos, many from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and live-action and computer-generated video. "It's like making something out of nothing," Gutierrez said. Because more than 80 percent of the video is made from still images, the former Hollywood music video and movie trailer editor had to create movement where there wasn't any. He also layered images to embellish the scant images he had of Neptune and Uranus. He used real and imagined images. "It's a good thing Holst didn't have one more planet," he cracked. "I maxed out the Jet Propulsion Lab and NASA Web sites." Orchestra conductor and Music Director Sarah Ioannides said the British composer's most famous piece of music, which debuted in 1920, has conjured up cosmic visions for generations. The Holst piece is based on astrology, not astronomy. Holst's symphony focused on seven planets and how they affect human behavior. (Pluto and the Earth are not included.) Ioannides wanted to conjure up a video after a board member showed her clips from a DVD, "StarGaze: Hubble's View of the Universe." "I felt it would be a very exciting thing for people to see," said the conductor, who's known for thinking outside the box. First movement "Mars: Bringer of War" is the most popular of the symphony's seven movements. "Mars" was a major influence on John Williams' music for the "Star Wars" movies, Ioannides said. "I think it's something that makes you think of being out there, being an astronaut," she said of "Mars." "Each movement is quite a journey in itself. I think definitely if you study a little bit about 'The Planets' and the nature of the different planets, you can see in a way that there's a slight connection to those images that might have been available (to Holst)." Gutierrez, a 1983 Hanks High School graduate who moved back to El Paso in 2002, said he faced many creative and technical challenges in interpreting Ioannides' vision. One of the biggest was getting a consistent aspect ratio, or the height-to-width ratio of the varied images. It was like "taking a ball of tortilla dough and a roller and covering the Sun Bowl with it," he said. To create movement, he pulled in or out from an image, glided it side to side, a la Ken Burns, or toyed with color and texture. He used computer software to map the music, filling in peaks and valleys with major visuals first. It took five months, six meetings, two quality-control viewings and countless hours in his home studio. The video will be projected on the Plaza Theatre's 40-foot screen behind the orchestra's 75 musicians. But there's more than meets the eye to these concerts. In addition to some unusual instrumentation configurations, "The Planets" requires a female choir to accompany "Neptune: The Mystic" -- off stage, to heighten the ethereal effect. It'll be "challenging and fun," said Elisa Wilson, UTEP assistant professor of voice and music theater, who will conduct the 45 singers from UTEP's Chorale and Glee Club. She'll watch Ioannides on a monitor. Mozart's Concerto for Flute & Harp in C Major will open the program. Principal flutist Melissa Colgin-Abeln, a UTEP music professor, and former principal harpist Grace Cloutier will perform. Ioannides described the music as "very charming, very delicate." The concerts mark a new alliance with UTEP's College of Liberal Arts. "It's a branch we have wanted to extend," said Ioannides, who hopes "it's one of many." "There is an extraordinary amount of talent on the UTEP campus, and we want to make sure that it is shared with our friends and neighbors," said Howard C. Daudistel, dean of UTEP's College of Liberal Arts. "The forthcoming performances of 'The Planets' will showcase UTEP talent, and I hope will also form the bedrock for future partnerships with EPSO." The symphony is also partnering with NASA for this concert: Geologist David Pieri and volcanologist Ashley Davies from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will speak Friday to El Paso Independent School District students, and they will talk about space at the free "Opening Notes" talks before each concert at 6:30 p.m. in the Philanthropy Theatre. Ioannides has another partnership in the works. She's expecting twins in late April or early May, so these will be her last concerts of the symphony's 79th season. She also conducted Wednesday in Germany and Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C. Ioannides acknowledges being a little tired, but otherwise OK. "I'm glad to say everything is in good shape," she said. Doug Pullen may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6397. Read Pullen My Blog at www.elpasotimes.com/blogs. Make plans --What: El"Paso Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Sarah Ioannides, the women of the UTEP Chorale, the UTEP Women's Glee Club, flutist Melissa Colgin-Abeln and harpist Grace Cloutier. --When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. --Where: Plaza Theatre. --How much: $11-$37, plus service charges; $6 and $8 for students. On sale at the box office the night of each concert, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000 and from the El"Paso Symphony Orchestra. --Information: 532-3776; www.epso.org. --Also: David Pieri and Ashley Davies of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will join Assistant Conductor Andy Moran in free "Opening Notes" talks at 6:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday in the adjacent Philanthropy Theatre . To see more of the El Paso Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.elpasotimes.com. Copyright (c) 2010, El Paso Times, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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