NASA Langley Brings Community Together with Symphony Under the Stars

NASA News 21 Jul 2026 2 min read

AI Insight

This is not a scientific research article, but rather a NASA news release about a community event. On July 16, NASA Langley Research Center hosted "Stars, Stripes, and Supernovas – Symphony Under the Stars," a musical celebration featuring an orchestra of NASA employees and Williamsburg Youth Orchestra members. The event commemorated the 250th anniversary of the United States and occurred one day before NASA Langley's 109th birthday, featuring patriotic songs and space-inspired pieces including selections from Holst's "The Planets."

Why it matters

This community outreach event demonstrates NASA's efforts to engage employees, families, and local communities through cultural activities. Such events help humanize scientific institutions and strengthen connections between research centers and the communities they serve.

Confidence

7/10Peer-reviewedAstronomy & Space

Understand the Science

Astronomy 8 articles Explore Concept →

Scenes and sounds from the July 16 “Stars, Stripes, and Supernovas – Symphony Under the Stars” event at NASA Langley.

NASA/Joe Atkinson

NASA Langley’s “Stars, Stripes, and Supernovas – Symphony Under the Stars” event brought employees, families, and community members together for an evening filled with music, connection, and celebration.

Organizers planned the event, which took place July 16, to mark the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.

The evening featured a dynamic mix of performances from an orchestra that included NASA Langley employees and members of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra, as well as smaller group performances from employees and special guest artist Karl Werne.

Musicians perform at NASA Langley’s “Stars, Stripes, and Supernovas – Symphony Under the Stars” event.

NASA/Mark Knopp

“It’s fun to bring people together, to share their diverse talents in order to create something that’s meaningful – and in this case something that was very beautiful too,” said Jennifer Kibler, deputy director of the Research Directorate at NASA Langley.

The orchestra played a selection of patriotic favorites and space-inspired pieces that highlighted the creativity and talent within the community. “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” and “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” from Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite “The Planets” were among the songs they performed.

The event, which also took place just one day before NASA Langley’s 109^th birthday, served as a reminder of the spirit that defines the center—scientists, engineers, communicators, and staff coming together to celebrate not only NASA’s mission, but the people who make that mission possible.

“This was a big team effort,” said Nicole Oman, administrative management specialist with the Research Directorate. “It wouldn’t have been a success without the contributions of every single person.”