The premiere screening of LIFE ON JUPITER: The Story of Jens Nygaard was a great success! At 6:15 pm on April 9, 2001, the doors of the Good Shepherd Church were opened to dozens of people pressing to enter the church which had been turned into a large screen video theater flanked with high-end stereo speakers. A standing room only crowd gathered within a few minutes, and they were treated first to a piano solo performance by Jung Lin who merited every moment of the enthusiastic applause. Martin Spinelli then introduced the documentary and Jens Nygaard, the great conductor and musician whose life is shown in this program. LIFE ON JUPITER is also a musical journey that highlights many performances by Jens and his Jupiter Symphony.

In the opening line of the documentary, Jens says, "I think if Zeus came to life right now, this would be Beethoven. Big, and muscular and crude. Uncivilized and wondrous and idealistic and with mud on his boots." And Zeus responded on that premiere night by sending thunder and lightning bolts just as Jens began rehearsing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The stained glass windows of the church lit up with the brilliant flashes of light, and the audience felt the full force of the Fifth as torrential rains and thunderclaps pounded just outside.

At the end of the film, Jens performs his much-loved interpretation of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," followed by the rousing "High School Cadets March" by John Philip Sousa. The audience stood up for the credits and did not stop clapping and stomping their feet even after the last frame of credits faded to black.

DVD and VHS copies of the program are now available. To order copies, click on the order button below.