COSMIC rays and the mysteries of deep space were the inspiration as students took part in a composition workshop.

Musicians Jake McMurchie and Mark Whitlam worked with Year 10 students at Liskeard School.

The pair are currently involved in the Deep Space project at the Sterts Theatre, which will see dance, live visuals and music combined in a performance based on a theme of cosmic rays.

The event drawing inspiration from the mysteries of the universe itself will be dedicated to the memory of physicist Stephen Hawking, who died recently.

Deep Space, a triple bill of new performances supported by Arts Council England, comes to Sterts Theatre at Upton Cross on Saturday, April 21.

The event showcases work from artists who explored ways to express the creative energy of the universe.

Top of the triple bill is Deep Space itself - a new work created by artists dealing with media, arts and scientific ideas on space and time and inspired by real data from cosmic rays from distant galaxies, captured as they strike Cornwall from space.

It is the culmination of new collaborations between Bristol musical outfit Michelson Morley, South East Cornwall dance artist Lois Taylor and a group of eight professional dancers from Cornwall and elsewhere in the UK, along with eco costume designer Andrea Carr, and St Ives-based film and live visuals practitioner Joanna Mayes.

Aurora Borealis, the second piece of the evening, is a new movement piece created by dancers from the community who have worked closely with choreographer Lois Taylor, responding through dance to the beauty of the Northern Lights.

The evening opens with the premiere of Music for the Night Sky, a new work created during a six-month collaborative creative process between Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Patrick Bailey and Sounds Vital of Liskeard, comprising locally-based performers, musicians and film-makers, and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.