What if time didn’t tick forward in seconds and minutes and hours? If it instead rolled in a circle or ran like water in a river, people might be doomed to repeat their lives or be thrown into the past like a rivulet moving upstream.

These and other fictional concepts of time are the dreams of young Einstein as he created the theory of relativity, as imagined by author and physicist Alan Lightman in his 1993 landmark novel, “Einstein’s Dreams.”

The collection of possible-dream stories inspired Music Professor Margaret Boudreaux and former McDaniel Artist-in-Residence Lorraine Whittlesey to create a new choral work. Boudreaux also developed an interdisciplinary course patterned after the fictional dreams with topics ranging from Physics in “Relativity for Dummies” to Psychology in “The Contradictions of Genius.”

Course lectures (see schedule below) are held 4:45-6 p.m. Wednesdays in Levine Music Recital Hall room 102. They are free, open to the public, and require no prior reservations. Course credit is only available for registered students. For more information, call 410-857-2294.

When one work inspires another, Boudreaux calls it “cascading creativity.” In this case, the theory of relativity inspired the novel, which in turn led to the creation of a new choral work (among numerous other works). Students will become a part of this “cascading creativity” as they come up with projects based on how the novel moves them.

“Students will explore the context in which the theory of relativity, the book, and the music were each created, and in that way, explore their own creative potentials,” Boudreaux says.

Chamber Music on the Hill, Masterworks Chorale, McDaniel College students, and members of the public will sing in the world premier of “Einstein’s Dreams,” planned for Sept. 17.

“I thought the book was lyrical and would lend itself well to music,” says Whittlesey, a composer and classically-trained pianist.

She wrote the lyrics and created the score, using rhythmic changes to show time’s movement. A heart beating ever slower illustrates a dream where time stands still.

Mathematics Professor Emeritus and College Historian Jim Lightner is preparing his lecture, “1905 The Miraculous Year and 20th Century Science,” slated for March 1.

“I have a dear friend who knew Einstein and talked about him and wrote interesting anecdotes, and I plan to read a few of those,” Lightner says. “I’ll talk about a number of things Einstein pulled into his theories that help us understand mathematics.”

The lecture series dates are as follows:

* Feb. 1 ‘“Einstein’s Dreams’ the Book,” Henry Reiff, Associate Dean of Students
* Feb. 8 “Relativity for Dummies,” Assistant Professor of Physics Jeff Marx
* Feb. 15 ‘“Einstein's Dreams - The Score,” Composer Lorraine L. Whittlesey
* Feb. 22 “Book and Score - Cascading Creativity,” Music Professor Margaret Boudreaux
* Mar. 1 “1905 The Miraculous Year and 20th Century Science,” Mathematics Professor Emeritus and College Historian James Lightner
* April. 5 “Einstein's Nightmares - Nazi Germany's Brain Drain,” Foreign Languages Associate Professor Mohammed Esa
* April 19 “Becoming Einstein,” Performance Artist Joe Cimino
* April 26 “The Contradictions of Genius,” Psychology Lecturer Paul Mazeroff

Class lectures are free and open to the public. For more information about the new choral work, click here: http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/einsteinsdreams/.