Star Wars in Concert

Last night I had more fun than should probably be allowed on a Thursday because I got to see Star Wars: A New Hope on the big screen while the iconic score was played live by the Utah Symphony!  It was amazing!  I am a huge fan of the Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series (I have seen every one since they began with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) but last night was my very favorite performance.  First of all, I love this movie so much!  It is still my favorite movie in the whole saga.  I haven't seen it on the big screen since I saw it in its first release as a nine year old little girl so it was thrilling, to say the least, to see it how it was meant to be seen again!  It brought back so many memories of watching it for the first time (I was terrified of Darth Vader as a nine year old).  Second, the score by John Williams is one of the best, in my opinion, and every theme is instantly recognizable.  I especially love "Imperial Attack," "Princess Leia's Theme," and "The Return Home" (I own the soundtrack on vinyl and know the names of the themes because I am a nerd).  The orchestra played it brilliantly and hearing the music live enhanced the experience of watching the movie so much!  Finally, the crowd at Abravanel Hall was quite rowdy!   When the orchestra played the fanfare during the opening crawl everyone went absolutely crazy!  We cheered out loud when Darth Vader, Leia, Luke, C-3PO, R2-D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, and Han Solo appeared for the first time on the screen but I think the biggest applause came when we saw the Millennium Falcon for the first time!  Lots of people were in costume and a little boy sitting in the first tier had a light saber which he wielded at key moments!  It was so much fun!  If you are a fan of this movie I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of the two remaining performances (go here).

Note:  Fingers crossed that they will eventually perform all of the movies in the franchise!

Casablanca In Concert

I absolutely love the Utah Symphony Films In Concert Series!  Last night the film shown on the big screen with the score played live by the Utah Symphony was Casablanca, widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, and it was simply amazing!  Casablanca is one of my favorites and I've seen it many times, even on the big screen, but last night is definitely the best viewing experience I’ve had!  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a hard-drinking club owner who is only out for himself in Casablanca, a haven for European refugees desperate for exit visas to escape the Nazis during World War II.  He ably navigates the the world of black marketeers, corrupt officials, and German officers until Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a hero of the resistance in need of safe passage.  Ilsa was once Rick's lover in Paris but she abandoned him, and even though he has documents that will ensure safe passage for her and her husband, he is bitter and refuses to help her.  Ilsa loves Rick but she admires and respects her husband and will do anything to help him continue his work with the resistance, even sacrifice her own happiness, but is Rick willing to sacrifice his own happiness to help them?  I have to admit that I am usually so riveted by the action on the screen that I don't pay much attention to Max Steiner's score.  However, hearing it played live by the orchestra brought the music to the forefront and it added so much to the story!  I noticed that elements of the song "As Time Goes By" by Herman Hupfeld are incorporated beautifully throughout the score as a leitmotif for Rick and Ilsa's doomed relationship, adding to the poignancy of their scenes.  One of my favorite moments in the film is when "La Marseillaise" is sung to drown out a German drinking song and, once again, I noticed that elements of this anthem are used throughout to highlight the political intrigue.  I loved this concert and I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's screening (go here).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert

Last night I got to see the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban screened at Abravanel Hall with the Utah Symphony playing the wonderful score by John Williams.  I love the Films in Concert series but seeing this particular movie, which chronicles Harry's third year at Hogwarts, was especially fun.  Many people in the crowd were in costume representing the four houses of Hogwarts and they cheered enthusiastically when every character was introduced or when anything dramatic happened.  Having the score played live adds so much to the experience!  Of course the instantly recognizable main theme is amazing but I also really enjoyed the music played when Harry takes the Knight bus to the Leaky Cauldron, when he rides Buckbeak the hippograff, when he plays Quidditch (the timpani and the chimes!), when he and Hermione are attacked by the Whomping Willow, when he summons a Patronus to save Sirius Black from the Dementers, and when he and Hermione rescue Sirius from the tower with Buckbeak.  There is a lot of percussion in this score and it is much darker in tone than the music in the first two films.  I loved watching the members of the orchestra playing their instruments while I watched the movie.  It was also cool to have the Utah Opera Chorus perform "Double Trouble" which is sung by a student choir in the Great Hall at Hogwarts at the beginning of the term.  I loved every minute of this movie and, if you are a fan of Harry Potter, I recommend getting a ticket to see it when it is screened again tonight (go here).

Ghostbusters in Concert

This week I have been really sick, which in and of itself is not very pleasant, but the bad thing is that I had a lot of plans which all had to be cancelled.  I was especially bummed about missing the Josh Groban concert!  Luckily, I felt much better yesterday and, since I made it through a day of school, I was able to go to the movie Ghostbusters with the score played live by the Utah Symphony.  It was so much fun!  I love the Utah Symphony Films in Concert series and this movie was especially appropriate for Halloween.  I remember loving this movie when I saw it on the big screen during its first run and, while some of the special effects are a little bit dated, it is still comedy gold.  Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis play Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz, and Egon Spengler, respectively.  They are paranormal psychologists who have recently been fired from Columbia University and, as a result, decide to form the Ghostbusters, a firm which hunts, captures, and disposes of ghosts.  A cellist named Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) hires them and they discover that her apartment building is a gateway for a supernatural being known as Grozer.  Both Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis) are possessed by Grozer's Gatekeeper and Keymaster and, when an officious EPA officer (William Atherton) shuts down the Ghostbusters and releases all of the ghosts back into the city, Grozer appears.  It takes the form of whatever they choose and Ray inadvertently chooses the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (the crowd cheered when he appeared on screen) and an epic battle ensues.  The score, composed by Elmer Bernstein, is absolutely dazzling and the symphony performed it brilliantly.  I think hearing the music performed live adds so much to the experience of watching the movie and I highly recommend getting a ticket to tonight's screening (go here for tickets and enter the promo code STAYPUFT for a $5 discount on each ticket).

Note:  As an added bonus, the guest conductor was Peter Bernstein, the son of the composer who also contributed to the score.

Jurassic Park in Concert

I absolutely love the Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series and, as many of you know, I also love seeing outdoor performances.  So, as you can imagine, last night's concert featuring a screening of Jurassic Park with John Williams' iconic score played by the Utah Symphony at the Usana Amphitheatre was just about the best way to spend a late summer evening.  Out of the entire franchise I've always thought that the original film by Steven Spielberg is the best and seeing it again on the big screen confirmed my opinion.  John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) brings dinosaurs to life once again by using dinosaur DNA from the blood of prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber and builds a theme park in which to display them.  When one of his employees is killed, his investors bring Dr. Grant (Sam Neill), a paleontologist, Dr. Sattler (Laura Dern), a paleobiologist, and Dr. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), a chaos theorist, to the park to assess the safety measures.  He also invites his grandchildren Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello) to visit.  Of course the dinosaurs escape their enclosures and wreak havoc on the guests of the park.  For me this movie has always been about the dinosaurs (I think the characters are a bit underdeveloped) and they are amazing!  The special effects have definitely held up over time.  My very favorite scene is when Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm see the dinosaurs for the first time because there is such a sense of wonder on their faces and I think the orchestral theme played here does a lot to convey that awe and wonder.  Hearing it live gave me goosebumps!  I also liked the music during the scenes where the dinosaurs attack because it adds to the sense of urgency.  I loved this concert so much and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the Films in Concert series this season, especially Star Wars: A New Hope and Casablanca.

Pirates of the Caribbean in Concert

I have become a huge fan of Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series and seeing the latest, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, last night was an absolute blast!  It has been quite a while since I've seen this movie but I quickly remembered why it is my very favorite in the franchise.  This is where we meet Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) for the first time in a swashbuckling tale about trying to reverse a curse on the crew of the Black Pearl.  The movie has a lot of great action sequences and Johnny Depp is so much fun to watch.  Having the iconic score by Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer played live by the Utah Symphony, along with a men's chorus, was absolutely thrilling.  The music is very energetic and I really liked all of the melodies played by the horns.  I particularly liked the music played during Will and Jack's sword fight, during the pirate attack on Port Royal, when Elizabeth finds out abut the curse of the Black Pearl, during the battle between the Black Pearl and the Interceptor, and when the pirates fight the crew of the Dauntless.  There was a huge crowd at Abravanel Hall which added to the festive atmosphere and that crowd erupted into a standing ovation during the final credits.  So much fun.  If you were not in attendance last night, cheer up me hearties because it will be screened again tonight (go here for tickets).

High Noon in Concert

I can't tell you how much I have been enjoying Utah Symphony's Films in Concert Series.  To see a film on the big screen while the Utah Symphony plays the score live is an incredible sensory experience.  Last night I got to see High Noon while the orchestra played Dimitri Tiomkin's Academy Award winning score.  I recently saw this film on the big screen and the only part of the score I really remembered is the ballad "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'" which is repeated several times.  However, the music is very powerful, as is the film itself!  Convicted killer Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) is on the noon train to Hadleyville with a score to settle with Will Kane (Gary Cooper), the Marshal responsible for convicting him.  The problem is that Kane has recently married Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly), a Quaker who abhors violence, and is on his way out of town when he hears the news of Frank's arrival.  He decides to return, against Amy's wishes, and tries to recruit deputies to stand with him to no avail.  He must face Miller and three members of his gang alone at high noon.  As I mentioned, the music is incredibly powerful, particularly the themes played when Kane fights his former Deputy Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) who is bitter at not being promoted to Marshal in a barn, when Amy kills a member of the gang (the audience cheered and applauded at this moment), and during the final confrontation between Kane and Miller.  I also really liked the chimes as the hands on the clock reach noon (the action happens in real time). These concerts have become my favorite thing to do because they combine two of my favorite things: film and the Utah Symphony! High Noon is such an iconic film so I thoroughly enjoyed this concert!

Note:  I am so glad that the Utah Symphony is continuing this series!  I have tickets to see Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl this summer and the films for next season were recently announced:  Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Casablanca, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  I am so excited for all of them!  Go here for more information.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert

Last Christmas the Utah Symphony showed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the big screen with the score played live by the orchestra.  I absolutely loved it and, at the time, I hoped that they would continue with the whole series of films.  It seems as if they are because this year they showed the next film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and I got to see it last night!  This film follows Harry Potter's second year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when the Heir of Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets which causes several students (as well as Mrs. Norris!) to be petrified after viewing the monster that is unleashed.  It was so much fun to see this on the big screen again and having the Utah Symphony play the lush score composed by John Williams added so much to the experience.  There was not an empty seat at Abravanel Hall and the crowd, many in costume, was extremely enthusiastic.  There were cheers and applause when every character appeared on screen for the first time (especially Professor Snape) and for all of Harry's adventures including the flying Ford Anglia, the Polyjuice Potion, the spider Aragorn, and the battle with the basilisk.  I especially enjoyed seeing Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) because they were so little and I thought Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) was hilarious!  It was such a fun night!  If you have not seen a movie in concert with a live orchestra I highly recommend it if you have the chance!  The Utah Symphony just announced that they will be showing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in June and I am really excited!

The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert

I am a huge fan of Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series because it is so much fun to watch a movie on the big screen at Abravanel Hall while the orchestra performs the score live!  Last night I had the opportunity to see The Nightmare Before Christmas and, frankly, I had been looking forward to it for months.  It was the perfect way to get excited for Halloween (my favorite holiday).  Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and leader of Halloween Town, is getting bored with scaring everyone with the same old tricks every year, so when he accidentally discovers Christmas Town while wandering in the woods, he decides that Christmas is a more appealing holiday and that he should take it over this year.  Santa Claus is kidnapped and all of the residents of Halloween Town are put to work making terrifying toys to disastrous effect.  Will Santa Claus be able to save Christmas in time?  I love this movie because of the spectacular world-building using stop-motion animation.  Only Tim Burton could dream up such a macabre, yet strangely enchanting, world filled with quirky characters and dazzling images on the screen that are so inventive and imaginative that you cannot look away.  Danny Elfman's iconic score is absolutely brilliant and having the Utah Symphony play it live was amazing.  I enjoyed this so much!  It will be shown again at Abravanel Hall tonight and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I wish that I could have seen The Nightmare Before Christmas at the El Capitan Theatre (it is screened there every October) while I was in Los Angeles but I ran out of time!  I will just have to go back!

Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert

Last night I had so much fun watching the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen at Abravanel Hall as the Utah Symphony performed the score by John Williams live!  I love this movie concert series that the Utah Symphony has started (go here and here) so much because listening to the music played live makes the movie so much more entertaining.  I may or may not have cheered out loud when we heard the iconic fanfare for the first time as Indiana Jones runs through the jungle.  It has been a really long time since I've seen this movie about an adventurous archaeologist and his quest to locate the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do.  I was my nephew's age when this first came out and it is really the first big epic adventure that I remember watching in the theater.  It felt just as exciting to me last night as it did then.  I'm starting to respect Steven Spielberg more and more because, just like with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I think the special effects in this movie hold up incredibly well.  There are so many scenes that I loved such as when Indiana shoots a man who dramatically brandishes a sword at him, when he fights one of the Nazis near the propeller of a plane, when he crawls underneath a moving truck, when he is trapped in a tomb full of snakes (this gave me nightmares when I was a kid), and when the Ark burns the faces off of the Nazis.  I also thought it was really clever to use a red line across a map to indicate a long journey and I liked the use of shadows (that fedora is instantly recognizable).  It is such a great movie and the orchestra played the music magnificently under the baton of guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos.  It was a really fun way to begin the weekend.  The next movie in this series is The Nightmare Before Christmas in October and tickets may be purchased here.

La La Land in Concert

Saturday night I went to see the movie La La Land on the big screen at the Usana Amphitheatre with the Academy Award winning score by Justin Hurwitz performed live on stage by the Utah Symphony.  It was so much fun!  I love seeing performances outside during the summer (Saturday was an absolutely perfect night) and I am a huge fan of showing movies with the score played live by an orchestra (I certainly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone last December).  La La Land was one of my favorite movies last year (I forget how many times I saw it in the theater) and I loved it just as much seeing it again on the big screen.  It feels like such an old-fashioned Hollywood musical to me and I was even more impressed with Ryan Gosling (I go back and forth on how I feel about Stone's singing).  I also had a different take on the ending this time around.  Mia and Sebastian choose their dreams rather than their relationship but there is a montage which shows what their lives would have been like if they had chosen each other instead.  I've always thought that they would have been much happier if they had chosen their relationship but, after this viewing, I realized that many of their dreams would have been fulfilled as well.  It is such a great movie!  The score is absolutely magical and, of course, I enjoyed the piano solos (Sebastian is a jazz pianist) but I was also impressed by the themes played by the clarinet and flute and there was a fabulous trumpet solo.  The Utah Symphony played it beautifully under the baton of guest conductor Emil de Cou.  I had a huge smile on my face the whole time and I may or may not have sung along with "City of Stars."  I would highly recommend seeing a movie performed with a live orchestra if you have the chance.  I will be seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in September, The Nightmare Before Christmas in October, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in December, all with the Utah Symphony, and I am very excited about all of them.  Go here for more information about these concerts.

Note:  Utah Symphony patrons comport themselves very differently than the usual crowd at the Usana Amphitheatre!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Concert

Last night I went to a screening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the big screen at Abravanel Hall with the magnificent score by John Williams played live by the Utah Symphony.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done!  Apparently this is becoming a really popular thing to do because I remember the guide at the Sydney Opera House mentioning that Raiders of the Lost Ark was being screened with a live orchestra that night.  When I got a notification about this concert, I was already planning on calling the box office that same day to get opera tickets so I decided to get a ticket for this at the same time.  The agent told me that there were very few tickets left so I'm glad that I acted quickly.  In fact, they added another concert on January 3 because the first two shows sold out so quickly (go here for tickets to the January 3 show).  I absolutely loved this!  It has been a long time since I've seen the Harry Potter movies (I feel a marathon coming on over the break) and I had forgotten just how enchanting Harry's first year at Hogwarts was!  Harry, Ron, and Hermione were so little in the first movie!  Having the Utah Symphony play the music live made the movie come to life and the audience definitely responded!  They cheered when every major character was introduced, when Harry and Ron defeated the mountain troll, when Gryffindor won the Quidditch game against Slytherin, when Ron sacrificed himself in the wizard's chess game, when Harry defeated Voldemort, and when Gryffindor won the House Cup!  It was so much fun and I am glad I was able to get a ticket!  I've heard a rumor that they will eventually show all of the movies with the Utah Symphony and I certainly hope they do.  I highly recommend this experience for the whole family!

Note:  Yesterday was just about the perfect day!  I slept in scandalously late then spent most of the day with Sean going to lunch and shopping.  We draw names for stockings and Sean drew my Dad.  He needed some assistance and we ended up going all over for one essential item!  I decided to go downtown for the concert really early to avoid the crazy traffic and got there so early that I ended up going to see the lights at Temple Square (pictures coming soon).