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VELA 6911 is a piece written by composer, musician and instrument designer Victor Gama. Based on the diary of Lindsey Rooke, an officer who was part of a secret nuclear test undertaken by South Africa in 1979. The piece was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on an invitation by resident composer Mason Bates and premiered on the 5th of March 2012 at Harris Theater as part of the CSO's MusicNOW concert series. It had its European premiere at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon on the 20th of January 2013. Written for eight orchestral instruments and Victor's own instruments acrux, toha and dino, the piece was conducted in Chicago by Cliff Colnot and in Portugal by Rui Pinheiro. The video component was shot in Antarctica on a research trip Gama took closely following Lindsey's diary during January 2012.