If you’re in Jozi and you’re interested in physics and music, you’re going to love the Universe on Stage and its latest show, The Black Hole Symphony!
Johannesburg, South Africa (19 November 2025) – The show is coming to the Linder Auditorium at the end of November, in collaboration with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO). It brings together science and music in a way that moves audiences. And with mind-bending visuals.
If the name already rings a bell, it’s because the physicist and actuary behind the Universe on Stage have been building their following over time. Their first show launched at The Bioscope three years ago, and since then they have sold out more than 30 performances in the country, working with special collaborators like the Joburg Ballet and now the JPO.
The team behind the magic is physicist Dr Luca Pontiggia, who turns complex science into stories we can all understand and actuary-composer Yasheen Modi, who translates those ideas into piano compositions. They’ve performed for over 10,000 people so far and now they’re scaling up.
The Black Hole Symphony is their biggest project to date and features a brand-new six-movement symphonic suite composed by Yash, performed live by a full JPO string ensemble and conducted by Daniel Boico. For this show, Luca will walk the audience through the mysteries of black holes.
It’s not everyday you leave a show understanding physics better. Yash and Luca make it happen.
Yash started playing piano at eight and won the Sanlam National Music Competition at 11. He later graduated summa cum laude in actuarial science from Wits and today he works as Head of Technical Marketing for Discovery while composing original scores for Universe on Stage!
Luca holds a PhD in theoretical physics (string theory) but has also directed films, run a photography business, officiated weddings, and even placed as first runner-up in Mr South Africa last year. Raised by an engineer father and an artist mother, he naturally moves between science and storytelling.
The JPO brings its own esteem to the mix, giving the show the scale and texture of a full orchestral performance, which is a really rare treat for a science-themed production. You won’t leave yawning.
Universe on Stage has a knack for turning astronomy into something deeply human. It manages to put really complicated ideas into perspective and gives audiences something to think about long after the curtains actually close.
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