Continuum Ortum
Cosmic rays – high-energy particles from outer space – constantly bombard the Earth. While most are blocked by the atmosphere, those that make it through trigger showers of secondary particles that reach all the way down to the planet's surface. The result is an invisible rain of radiation, continuously passing through our surroundings and our bodies.
Continuum Ortum (‘the emergent continuum’) is a new work for organ and particle detector by artist and composer Christian Skjødt Hasselstrøm, created in close collaboration with organist David Bendix Nielsen. The composition has been developed specifically for Nikolaj Kunsthal's historic organ, built by Marcussen & Søn in 1930.
A newly developed detection system translates cosmic events into animated musical notation. Rather than following a pre-written score, the music takes shape in the very moment it is performed – making each performance unique. While cosmic radiation reaches us as fleeting impulses, the composition stretches these momentary events into musical sequences, giving duration to something that would otherwise exist only for an instant.
The performance enters into dialogue with Hasselstrøm's solo exhibition Meridians (26 August 2026 – 10 January 2027).
Organist: David Bendix Nielsen
David Bendix Nielsen (b. 1993) is a Danish organist who studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.
As a concert organist, he has performed at prestigious venues including St Paul's Cathedral in London, the Basilique Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, and the cathedrals of Copenhagen and Lund.
He is a recipient of the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize and has been selected for the Danish Arts Foundation's Young Artistic Elite programme. Since 2021, he has served as Artistic Director of Orgeldrømme, developing interdisciplinary concert formats that bring music into dialogue with other art forms.
Artist and Composer: Christian Skjødt Hasselstrøm
Christian Skjødt Hasselstrøm (b. 1980) is a Copenhagen-based artist and composer working at the intersection of sound, visual art and natural science. His practice often involves site-specific installations that explore the limits of human sensory experience and perception.
His work has been presented internationally at venues and festivals including the MOMENTUM Biennale in Norway, the WRO Media Art Biennale in Poland, Ars Electronica Festival in Linz and Donaueschinger Musiktage in Germany, as well as at O—Overgaden and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark.
He has received recognition from Prix Ars Electronica, the Japan Media Arts Festival and Edigma Semibreve, as well as the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Talent Prize.
