Koyaanisqatsi with The Philip Glass Ensemble

The Philip Glass Ensemble plays the full soundtrack of Koyaanisqatsi live at Northrop Auditorium on Tuesday, March 9, 2027, with the film projected on screen. It's a nine-piece ensemble on the Carlson Family Stage, performing the entire score in real time while the movie runs.

Koyaanisqatsi takes its name from the Hopi concept of "life out of balance," a way of life marked by moral corruption and turmoil. Released in 1982, Godfrey Reggio's debut film is the first of The Qatsi Trilogy: it contains no dialogue and relies entirely on imagery and Philip Glass's score, moving between time-lapse visuals of urban decay and slow-motion sequences of natural landscapes to spotlight the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology. The film became a landmark of experimental cinema, credited with influencing generations of filmmakers and visual artists.

The Philip Glass Ensemble, founded by Glass in New York City in 1968, is the exclusive performer of his repertoire; the composer called it "the most authentic performance practice of my music in our time." The evening is copresented with Liquid Music and the Walker Art Center as part of the Liquid Music | Northrop Series and the Philip Glass @ 90 season.

Tickets start at $30. The performance begins at 7 PM and runs approximately 90 minutes. You can find it at Northrop Auditorium, 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis.