One Minute Wonders (piano) One Minute Wonders (piano) One Minute Wonders is the name given to a series of piano pieces by leading British composers, commissioned by the pianist Clive Williamson in association with the University of Surrey. The challenge, laid down to all contributing composers, was that submitted compositions had to last no longer than 60 seconds (although, in practice, several pieces exceeded the time limit). Contributing composers included Colin Matthews, John Woolrich, Julian Anderson, Matthew King, Tansy Davies, Steve Goss and Michael Finnissy. Many of the compositions were premiered at a concert at the University of Surrey in 2005. Anthony Payne, writing
Thermal equator Thermal equator The thermal equator (also known as "the heat equator") is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe. Because local temperatures are sensitive to the geography of a region, mountain ranges and ocean currents ensure that smooth temperature gradients (such as might be found if the Earth were uniform in composition and devoid of surface irregularities) are impossible, the location of the thermal equator is not identical to that of the geographic Equator. The term is less frequently used to describe the belt