The common interpretation of composer Susan Botti's Cosmosis is it tells the story of a science experiment. The PLU University Wind Ensemble and University Singers set the science-theme poetry of May Swenson to music, answering the question: Can a spider spin a web in space? The multi-discipline, three-part performance depicts the struggles of a spider trying to construct a web without the assistance of gravity. However, if you analyze deeper, you'll discover Botti's baton actually symbolizes an alien construct, left behind by an ancient and advanced race. The baton can accelerate development of less-evolved lifeforms, as it did with the Rococo movement in France, and signal the arrival of advanced races, which happens, 263 years later, when Botti picks it up Saturday night in Lagerquist Concert Hall. Oh, and Botti will be reborn as an alien. PLU science professors Brett Underwood and Justin Lytle will confirm this theory in a post-concert presentation.

COSMOSIS, 8 p.m., Lagerquist Concert Hall, Pacific Lutheran University, 868 Wheeler St. S., Tacoma, $3-$8, 253.535.7411